Dates, Mates, Hate, and Fate
by mama4dukes
Summary: Vampires don't exist...or do they? Bella's secret knowledge of vampires is inadvertently brought to surface when she & her friends are all thrown in the path of fate.
1. Chapter 1

**People can't eat people alive, and frozen men don't exist. Bella's secret knowledge of vampires is inadvertently brought to surface when she & her friends are all thrown in the path of fate.**

**Here it is, my new Jasper/Bella story. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did my first one. I can tell you now that I'm having a rip-roaring good time writing this.**

**Warning: If you are offended by swearing, sex, or inappropriate behavior, it's best that you do not read this story.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Lauren's POV**

I was bored out of my skull, sitting in our house doing nothing. The fall semester at the University of Washington was due to begin in a week and a half. My roommates were all out working at their jobs. I had the day off today. It was pouring rain outside, not at all conducive to any sort of outdoor activities—not that I participated in any. The point is, the weather sucked shit and I really didn't feel like doing anything except for vegging out at home.

I thought about my three roommates. I loved those bitches, I really did—each and every one of them. There was Jess, she's been my friend since kindergarten. She and I have always been tight. There was also Angela. Angela and I were only acquaintances until our senior year of high school. Now, she was one of my tightest buddies and I'd never let her get hurt again. The last of our pack was Bella. She came to Forks during our junior year and I was instantly jealous of her. I mean, she just showed up from Arizona one day and all of the guys at school worshipped the ground she walked on instantly. It wasn't until our senior year that we all became friends. Now we were inseperable.

Senior year at Forks High. It was the worst year of our lives, and the best. I had thought I was in a good place when it started. I was dating Tyler Crowley and I was deliriously in love, or so I thought I was. My grades weren't bad either, I was pulling straight B's and C's which was a first for me.

My best friend Jess was in a similar situation. She and Mike Newton were going strong. You couldn't pry the two of them apart with the jaws of life. She, Mike, Tyler, and I would frequently go out on double dates and we'd have the time of our lives.

Angela was also in a great place. She was dating Ben Cheney, and she had even given her virginity up to him. That was a huge step for a minister's daughter.

Then there was Bella Swan, she was dating the gorgeous, wealthy, and elusive Edward Cullen. We all fawned over him. Her dating him was a huge reason that I was jealous of Bella in the first place. All that came to an end when I found out what kind of a prick the guy really was.

As I was saying, senior year was going great in our minds. Then, on the evening of September 16th, things started falling apart. I think it was around ten pm when my mother suddenly donned her jacket and equipped herself with a flashlight.

"_Stay in the house, Lauren. I'm going to go and help with the search party. Bella Swan is missing,"_ my mom told me.

"_Missing?"_ I asked, not that I cared at the time. For all I knew, she could have gotten mauled by a bear, I didn't give a shit.

"_Yes, missing. The community phone chain was just activated, apparently, the girl went for a walk in the woods with her boyfriend right after school and she hasn't been seen or heard from since."_

"_Wow, I hope they find her,"_ I lied.

"_Me too, honey. If it were you that were missing, I'd tear the entire forest apart until they found you."_

Okay, now I felt bad for my lie.

"_Good luck,"_ I stated, as she went out the door. My mother and father got divorced when I was a baby. For as long as I could remember, it was only just me and her.

A minute later, Jess called me. _"Did you hear the news about Bella Swan? My parents are out searching the woods for her right now. I wonder what happened?"_

"_No idea,"_ I said.

"_Yeah, well, my mom said that the Cullens suddenly left town too. Their house is completely boarded shut. Do you think Edward Cullen murdered her?"_

"_Oh my God! Maybe that's what happened. I'm so glad that I didn't date him, Jess."_

"_Lauren, you didn't even have a chance with him. The guy didn't even give you a passing glance."_

"_And it's a good thing, too, because I would have been the one lying dead in the forest. God rest her soul."_

"_You're so right. We should say a prayer for her."_

"_Yeah,"_ I agreed.

I had no idea what time my mother came home because I was already sleeping by then. In the morning, my mother told me that she was found in the woods by one of the men from the Quileute Reservation at around three in the morning. She was apparently catatonic and had hypothermia, and had to be hospitalized. The news was that her boyfriend had broken up with her in the woods and just left her there.

"_I'm telling you something, Lauren. If I ever see that Edward Cullen again, I'll be saying a few words to him about manners, then I'll be breaking his nose. What kind of a boy breaks up with a girl in the middle of the woods and just abandons her there? What a horrible boy! I'm so happy that you never got involved with him!"_ my mother seethed in anger.

When I got to school, Bella Swan was the topic of the day. Edward Cullen had become the evil villain of Forks High, and rightfully so. I may not have liked Bella, but no one deserved to be broken up with and abandoned in the woods. Fucking bastard!

At lunch, I sat with Tyler, Mike, Jess, Angela, and Ben. Angela was completely upset about what happened to Bella. She and her were good friends.

"_I'm going to go and visit her at the hospital after school today," _Angela said.

"_I'll come with you,"_ I offered. I had no idea what made me say that.

"_Really?" _ Angela looked shocked. It was no secret that Bella wasn't my favorite person.

"_I'll come, too,"_ Jess said. _"She shouldn't be alone at a time like this. I know that if Mike broke up with me, I'd be devastated."_

"_I'll never break up with you, babe," _Mike said. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

"_I know." _Jess was so gullible back then, she believed him so easily. We were all deluded when we were in high school.

When school ended that day, Angela, Jess, and I made our way to the hospital to visit Bella. She looked like hell. We all made polite conversation with her, but she wouldn't talk. I had a short fuse, correction, I still have a short fuse. Anyway, I became quickly annoyed at how she looked dead to the world.

"_You know something, Bella. I came here today because I felt sorry for you, but I don't anymore. You haven't said a thing to us. Sure, that prick, Edward Cullen, broke up with you, and he did it in a bad way, too. No decent guy would abandon someone he cared about in the woods. There are like wolves, bears, skunks, and shit out there. You could have been sprayed by a skunk and your hair would have stunk for months! Not to mention the fucking mosquitos! You could have been bitten and been all itchy. The point is, the asshat broke up with you in a callous way. Now, do you really want to waste any more time moping about the fucker, or are you going to start talking, and enjoying your life?"_

Jess and Angela's eyes widened in shock as I handed Bella her ass to her. What Bella did next stunned us all. She started laughing. Laughing. In fact, she was laughing so hard that the rest of us started laughing. The nurse came rushing inside because of the ruckus we were making, telling us to keep the noise down.

After she left, Bella finally spoke, _"You know something, you're right. The guy is an asshat! What a fucking freak! You know what else? Because of him, I'm still a virgin! An eighteen year old virgin! He kept rejecting me because he wanted to keep me pure until marriage. He never took my opinions into consideration and, come to think of it, I don't even think he ever heard a word I said. Oh my God! I think he got off on getting me all worked up, and then letting me down. I wasted so much time on him." _She started crying her eyes out.

I pulled Bella into my arms and told her that those would be the last tears she ever shed over Edward Prude Prick Pussy Cullen. She thanked me for my brutal honesty. Jess, Angela, and I visited her in the hospital everyday after school and when she finally returned to school the following Monday, the four of us were best friends.

Two weeks later, it was my turn to get shafted. I caught Tyler cheating on me with some bitch on the cheerleading squad. Bella actually went up to Tyler during football practice and chewed his ass out in front of the entire football team and cheerleading squad. She called him a cheating scoundrel and a man-whore, and called the bitch in question a slut of the worst kind for stealing someone else's man. Angela predicted that she would be knocked up within a month. Sure enough, on graduation day, that cheerleader walked up to retrieve her diploma, seven months pregnant and as big as a house. My best friends let me sulk for exactly two days, then showed up at my house with sleeping bags, nail polish, and smuggled alcohol from their parents' liquor cabinet. Angela even brought cigarettes that her mother had stashed away from her father. We partied like the innocent girls that we were, then spent the entire night puking in the toilet because we couldn't handle our liquor. We've worked on that throughout the years.

About a month after that, Bella was coming out of the bathroom when Mike Newton actually had the nerve to ask her out. Jess, Angela, and I were just on the other side of the door and heard the whole conversation. I can recall it to this day.

"_Hey, Bella, how's it going?"_ Mike asked.

"_Good, thanks."_

"_That's great. Really, it is. I was wondering what you're doing on Friday night?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Well, I thought that maybe you and I can go catch a movie or something. You know, just the two of us."_

"_Like a date?"_

"_Yeah, exactly."_

Jess was freaking out behind the bathroom door at this point.

It was Bella's response that was awesome. _"Why you fucking son-of-a-bitch! How dare you! How dare you ask me out on a date! You're dating one of my best friends and you have the nerve to ask me out? I oughta string you up by the balls like a pinata and beat you with a fucking baseball bat!"_

"_Uh, so, I take it that's a no, then."_

"_Of course it's a no, you little shit!"_

"_Well, um, it'd be cool if you don't mention this to Jess."_

"_I'm not that cool of a person, you bastard!"_

Jess, Angela, and I opened the door and filed out of the ladies room just then. We flanked Bella and stared down Mike. The turd brain didn't even have the decency to break up with Jessica. He just avoided her for the rest of the year. Bella, being the awesome friend that she was, gave her two week notice to Mrs. Newton. She worked at Fork's Outfitters with the rest of us after that. The three of us let Jess brood until the weekend. We showed up on Saturday morning, loaded her up into Angela's car and drove to Seattle for the day. We toured the University of Washington and even snuck into a frat party. We decided that we would apply for college there solely based on the party scene. I had no doubt that I would get in. Angela, Bella, and Jess were really smart and they forced me to keep up with my school work no matter how much I bitched. I was actually pulling A's and B's.

So, three of us were single, and things were still going strong and steady between Angela and Ben. That all came to an end in April when we started receiving our college acceptance letters. Ben got accepted to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Angela didn't, but was accepted to several other colleges, only none that were close to Palo Alto. Ben asked Angela to come to California with him instead of attending any of the colleges that she was accepted to.

"Why should I?" she asked him.

"You really should see if you can get into better schools, Angela."

"Um, I got into several great schools, Ben. And there's nothing wrong with the University of Washington."

"Yeah, well, considering that I got into a much better school than you did, I think you should move out to California with me and support my educational endeavors."

"And what about my educational endeavors, Ben?"

"You can always go to a community college in the area. It's not like the schools that you got into are a big deal."

Bella's, Jessica's, and my jaws dropped at the same time. We were stunned that he could make such an arrogant and elitist statement.

"Would you girls excuse us?" Angela asked.

The three of us got up from the lunch table and moved a couple of tables over to give them some privacy, but not enough so that they were out of earshot. By the end of lunch, Angela had dropped Ben like a ton of bricks. She wasn't putting up with his over-inflated ego. Ben apologized and begged her to get back together with him, but she stood strong and tall and told him that, now that he had shown his true colors, there was no way that she could ever be his girlfriend again.

Rather than sulking, Angela became angry. She had been playing the role of the good minister's daughter throughout her life and she was sick of it. Her final straw was when her parents actually sided with Ben because, according to them, he would be going to Stanford University and had an extremely promising future. Angela couldn't believe how much faith her parents didn't have in her. She realized then, that for her entire life, her parents had been telling her that she should marry a minister's son or a doctor and be a good, supportive wife. They never had any faith in her to forge her own career. As it was, Angela had a full ride to the University of Washington. So did Bella, for that matter. Angela moved out of her parents house and into my house that day. She came over sobbing that her father had hit her. She had welts and bruises on her face to prove it. When my mom saw the welts on Angela's cheek, she called Charlie Swan immediately and he rushed over to my house. Now, I've known Charlie Swan my entire life, but I had never, ever seen him as angry as he was that day. He took a statement from Angela and some pictures. He asked her if she had any relatives in the area that she could stay with. She said that she didn't. Since she was already eighteen, my mom suggested that she move in with us. My mom has always been extremely supportive and she genuinely liked Angela, so she welcomed her with open arms.

Next, Charlie asked her if she wanted to press charges against her father, she said that she did not so he escorted Angela back to her parents house to retrieve her belongings. Angela told us that Charlie threatened Reverend Weber to within an inch of his life and told him that if he ever approached her again, he would make sure that he was locked up for the rest of his life. Angela still hasn't talked to her parents to this day, they've written her off as a sinner, and they avoid my mother and Charlie like the plague.

Five weeks later, the four of us showed up at the senior prom, dressed to the nines, without dates. We had a total blast. Our prom picture was of the four of us together smiling at the camera in complete bliss. We had no men, but we didn't care. We were just happy and sure of ourselves and that's how it's been ever since then. In the last three years, we've seen each other through every heartache and supported each other through every achievement. We've been there for each other for everything. Even when, last year, Bella and I got the shock of our lives, when her dad and my mom up and eloped in Reno. We had no idea that the two were even dating. Not that we minded, but damn, they could have warned us.

We were due to begin our senior year at the University of Washington. The four of us were renting a house near the campus. We all had part-time jobs during the school year and worked full-time during the summers. Bella worked at Barnes and Noble, Angela worked at Target, Jessica worked at McDonald's, and I was a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. My mom and Bella's dad, and Jessica's parents, all contributed to our rent and Jess and I got our college tuitions paid for. Angela and Bella both had academic scholarships.

I peeked at the clock. It was already four o'clock and I hadn't done a thing. It was Wednesday so it was my turn to cook. What the fuck was I going to make for dinner? I wasn't an expert chef like Bella was so they never expected much. I swear, that girl has a gift. We were all assured of having at least two good dinners a week with her cooking. I only had to cook one night a week because my brutally honest roommates told me that I sucked the big wienie when it came to cooking. I was okay with that, I was woman enough to admit that I needed a personal chef. Too bad we have to eat to survive.

I looked through the cupboard and found two boxes of Hamburger Helper. Yep, that's what we're having. I can manage that. I know for a fact that we have ground beef, too. I'd better get to cooking before they all get home. God, I hope they don't expect me to cook a vegetable with this meal.

I was listening to the radio and was about to turn the burner off when I heard the DJ announce, _"Alright it's time for the Radio KPTY Wild Labor Day Weekend in Vegas contest. You and three friends will be flown to Las Vegas, stay in a penthouse suite at the Hard Rock Hotel for three nights, given exclusive use of a party limo all weekend, have free passes to all the hot venues in Vegas, including the REHAB pool party, plus you'll receive ten thousand dollars in spending cash. Participants must be age twenty-one or older. The first caller with the correct answer to this question wins: What town in Washington is under a near-constant cover of clouds and boasts over two hundred eleven days of rainfall, on average, per year? If you know the answer call 206-123-KPTY. Good luck!"_

"Aaaagggghhhh!" Phone, phone, phone, motherfucker, where's my fucking cell? Shit, shit, shit. Keep it together, Lauren. Fucking keep it together. Oh my God! It's a busy signal. Damn it. Keep trying. You never know. Oh my fuck. Oh my Lord.

I mentally said a prayer, _"Dear Jesus, I know I haven't exactly been perfect, and I know that I'm a lush, and I may have had a few one night stands, but please, please...I really need to win this. My friends and I need to get wild and let loose for one weekend in Las Vegas. I've never really asked you for anything so please do this for me, for us. You know what, do it for Angela. She spent eighteen years of her life, faithfully attending church, and praying to you, only to be shafted by one of your supposed messengers. You owe her one, God damn it! Um, sorry for cursing."_

I finally got a ring tone. The DJ picked up. _"KPTY—Seattle's Party Station. Do you have an answer for me?"_

"Forks! Forks, Washington in the Olympic Peninsula. Zip code 98331!" I screeched into the phone.

"_What's your name, sweetheart?"_

"Lauren, Lauren Mallory!"

"_Lauren, are you at least twenty-one years old and do you have three friends that are also at least twenty-one?"_

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Bella Swan—they're my best bitches ever!"

"_Well, Lauren, you and your friends meet the age qualifications and you guessed right. It is Forks, Washington!"_

"Aaaagggghhhh! Oh my Goooooood! Aaaagggghhhh! Aaaagggghhhh! Aaaagggghhhh!"

"_Calm down, Lauren. Let me get some information from you so we can send you and your friends off on your Wild Weekend in Vegas. Now tell me, what station hooks you up with the best party music and the best contests ever?"_

"KPTY—Seattle's Party Station!" I hollered.

"_Okay, hold the line."_

A minute later, the DJ came back on the line and I gave him our information. I had to go and pick up our prize package between tonight and tomorrow. We were leaving on a noon flight on Friday. I hung up the phone, completely over the moon. The smoke detector started going off. Oh shit! The dinner!

Angela, Bella, and Jess walked into the house at that moment.

"Holy shit! The pan's on fire!" Jess shrieked. She got some baking soda out of the freezer, doused the flames, and turned the burner off.

"What the fuck happened?" Angela asked.

"Did you just burn Hamburger Helper, Lauren?" Jess asked.

"Yes, yes I did, but I have a really good excuse."

"You suck at cooking?" Bella asked, brightly.

"That too, but you're so not going to believe this chicas. I just won us a trip for four, for this weekend, to Las Vegas—all expenses paid from KPTY."

"Aaaagggghhhh!" they all shrieked, and ran to hug me. The four of us were jumping up and down in joy.

"How?" Bella questioned.

"All I had to do was call in and answer this question: What town in Washington is under a near-constant cover of clouds and boasts over two hundred eleven days of rainfall, on average, per year?"

"Forks!" they all hollered simultaneously.

"We just have to pick up the prize package tonight or tomorrow."

"Fuck it, dinner's obviously shot so let's go now!" Bella urged excitedly. "We can grab some pizza after we pick up the prize package." The three of them quickly changed out of their work uniforms and we were out of the door in a flash.

"Girls! We're going to tear Vegas apart this weekend!" I cried.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe we'll finally meet some decent guys," Jess said.

"Who gives a shit? As long as they're game for partying, I don't care. It's not like we're going to see them again after this weekend."

"You're right, Bella. It's party time!" Angela agreed.

Oh, yeah, we're going to take Las Vegas by storm! The city won't know what hit it.

**Emmett's POV**

Jasper, Carlisle, Pete, and I were hanging around the house watching TV. This is what our lives were reduced to. Four years ago, Jasper almost slipped and nearly took a bite out of Bella Swan at the birthday party that Alice forced onto her. She didn't blame him. In fact, that's what she told Carlisle while he was stitching her up. She knew that it was always a possibility, hanging out with vampires. After Edward dropped Bella off at home, the shit hit the fan.

Alice called a family meeting. We all sat at the dining table. Alice, Edward, Esme, and Rose faced Carlisle, Jasper, and me.

"_It's time,"_ Alice suddenly announced. Carlisle, Jasper, and I were clueless. The other four were...well, let's just say that those underhanded fuckers knew exactly what it was time for.

Edward spoke, then,_ "The incident that just happened was planned. We needed a way to get rid of Bella. I'll be formally breaking up with her on the Sixteenth of September."_

"_What the fuck do you mean by get rid of Bella? Edward, you love her,"_ I said.

"_No, I don't, and please refrain from using crass language in front of me."_

"_Fuck you!"_ Jasper and I shouted at the same time.

Edward became frustrated and pinched the bridge of his nose. _"Alice,"_ he sighed, and motioned for the midget to take over.

"_I need everyone to remain calm,"_ Alice said, then dropped the bombshell. _ "The four of us are leaving __the family."_

"_What?"_ Carlisle shrieked.

"_Each of us have found someone else. You knew that we weren't your mates, only your companions. Well, we've found our mates."_

Okay, so we knew that this was always a possibility, but really? Did the unfeeling shits have to do this tonight?

"_Yes, it's best we get this over with so the four of us can go to Denali,"_ Edward said, reading my mind.

Fucking mind-invading asshole.

"_As I said, we've found someone else, and we are leaving the family. It's no longer fair to the four of you for us to continue in this manner behind your backs."_ Alice looked pointedly at Jasper. _"Jazzy—Edward and I are mates."_

"_Say what?" _

"_Edward and I are mates. We're in love and we can no longer keep our love to ourselves."_

"_Exactly how long has this been going on, Alice?"_

"_Since before Phoenix."_

"_Hang on a second. Are you saying that you and pretty boy here strung me and Bella along for four, possibly five months?"_

"_Yes," _she gulped. Jasper must have sent Edward and Alice an immense amount of pain because both of them were writhing on the ground and shaking. A minute later, they both got up and sat back down in their chairs.

"_Who's your mate, Rose?"_ I asked.

"_Esme."_

Carlisle's and my jaw dropped. We turned to each other with stunned looks on our faces.

"_Well, hell, as long as Carlisle's not my mate, I'm golden. He's not my mate, is he?"_

"_No, I don't know who your mates are," _Alice informed us. _"I highly doubt the four of you have mates. You're just not on the same elevated plane of existence as we are."_

"_Okay, well, I'm free from the shackles of Madam Frosty Bitch now. Woohoo!"_ I shouted in joy.

"_You know, Emmett. You could show a little more feeling about the fact that our marriage is coming to an end!" _ Rosalie humphed.

"_Why the fuck should I? You were the one eating pussy for god knows how long, you frigid bitch. I got sick of your fucking ass years ago. Oh, and you suck in bed. All you do is lie there and expect to be serviced. Thank God I never kissed you while we were fucking, I wouldn't want Esme's twat invading my tastebuds."_

I figured that I might as well let this shit all out now, since this was the last time I ever planned on encountering these freaks from hell. The first thing that I planned on doing was feeding from humans. Fuck animals, they all tasted funny.

"_No, Emmett. Don't do it. Don't demean yourself and feed from humans. You're better than that, brother,"_ Edward tried to preach.

"_Oh, no, Eddie. You don't get to call me brother, and you certainly don't get to tell me whether or not I can feed from humans. It's my choice, not yours."_

Carlisle was still stunned silent. He was unable to open his mouth at all. He truly loved Esme, but it was clear that she didn't love him. Jasper always told me that he felt that their relationship was one-sided and Esme was only using him for money.

"_I've taken the liberty to have divorce papers drawn up. All you have to do is sign them. Everything is all set." _ Alice passed a set out to each of us.

I was about to sign the papers, and so was Carlisle, when Jasper yelled, _"Stop!"_

"_Why, dude?"_ I asked.

"_Because, you never, ever sign anything without reading it first, and the amount of deception that I felt radiating off of the three whores right now was off the charts."_

"_You don't trust me, Jasper?" _ Alice screeched.

"_Nope, and you know what else, bitch? I want you to hand over my credit cards right the fuck now! NOW!"_

Alice started shaking and emptied the contents of her purse onto the table. Jasper took away everything in her wallet, her checkbook, savings passbook, license, passport, everything except for the small amount of cash in her wallet.

"_You two hoes do the same,"_ Jasper growled at Rosalie and Esme. He was using his gift on them. Edward, the pussy, was too scared to step in. Jasper was sending all four of them a fuckton of fear. He rifled through the contents of their purses and took everything away from them, too. He, then turned to Edward and told him to hand over his wallet, and any and all documents with the name Cullen on it. Jasper had everything shredded between his fingers in seconds.

"_You fuck us, we fuck you,"_ he sneered, then called Jenks while sending a steady dose of fear to the four cheats.

"_Jenks!"_

"_Yes, Mr. Jasper."_

"_You drew up three sets of divorce papers for Alice, didn't you?"_

"_Yes, Mr. Jasper."_

"_Mr. Carlisle, Mr. Emmett, and I aren't signing them."_

"_I understand, Mr. Jasper."_

"_You are no longer to forge any documents for Alice, Edward, Esme, and Rosalie using the names Whitlock, Cullen, or McCarty. Furthermore, they are to be billed directly for any services that you provide for them. Is that understood?"_

"_Yes, Mr. Jasper." _

"_If I find out anything otherwise, there'll be hell to pay. And I will find out. Are we on the same page?"_

"_Yes, Mr. Jasper."_

"_Good." _ Jasper hung up the phone.

"_Jasper, how are we supposed to live? You've taken everything away from us. You owe me! I've given you over sixty years of my life!"_

"_And I've paid through the nose for it, too. Don't worry, you can take whatever assets you came into our marriage with, with you."_

"_But you know that Rose, Esme, and I have nothing!"_

"_Edward's a rich fellow. I'm sure he'll support you."_

"_But...but...what about the divorce?"_

"_Oh, well, I'll have my attorney draw up papers for Carlisle and Esme, and Emmett and Rose."_

"_What about us?"_

"_Sorry, sweetheart, Jasper Hale doesn't exist and neither does Alice Cullen. It makes things a lot easier, don't you think?"_

Alice looked like a pint sized pit-bull with steam coming out of her ears. She started shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"_Glad I don't have to deal with her manipulative, lying ass anymore," _Jasper commented. Edward lunged to attack, but Jasper had him in pieces in seconds. _"Don't fuck with me, little boy!"_

"_Jasper, who is your attorney? There's no attorney other than Jenks." _ Rose was clearly perturbed.

"_Didn't I tell you? My buddy Pete passed the bar about five years ago. I know how much you all like him,"_ he smirked. Oh smack! This shit was getting good. Fuck, maybe I should feel more remorse...nah, the ice queen is gonna be gone forever. That was reason to celebrate.

"Fuck, yeah!" I cheered, doing a few fist pumps in the air.

Alice started wailing upon hearing that. She knew that there would be no recourse. It was no secret that Pete hated her ass and he would do everything in his power to make life miserable for the four of them.

Carlisle finally regained some composure. _"Take your shit and get the fuck out of my house! All of you! And if I find you've been using the Cullen name, I'll make sure that Peter Whitlock fucks your shit up! I'll have him send the divorce papers over to the house in Denali, you can keep that house. I don't want it."_

"_Right on, Carlisle!" _ I whooped, showing my complete support for his decision.

Within two hours, Edward was reassembled and the four of them were packed and out of the house. Carlisle, Jasper, and I left the next morning for Pete's house. It would have been too hard for us to explain the sudden disappearances of four of our family members to the townspeople.

When we arrived at Pete's sprawling ten bedroom estate in Arizona. He was expecting us. He had the divorce papers all prepped and ready for me and Carlisle. Rose and Esme were getting straight divorces with no division of assets. Carlisle signed over the deed to the house in Denali to the four of them. It was worth only about a hundred and twenty grand which was nothing for Carlisle. Pete also had new papers and identification ready for all of us with his address listed. I went back to using my real last name, McCarty, and Jasper went back to using Whitlock.

When Pete looked over the divorce papers that Alice had drawn up, it was incredibly skewed. Alice and Esme both wanted eighty percent of Jasper's and Carlisle's assets, while Rose wanted my boyhood home in Gaitlinburg, which was all I had. Carlisle and Jasper both wrote me checks for five million dollars each that day, stating that there was no way that they would make their brother go through eternity without cash. Pete said he'd build it up for me using his foresight, which I might add was a fuckton more accurate than Malice's visions.

The divorce papers were signed and returned within a week and we were released from the shackles of marriage. The only one that brooded was Carlisle, but not for long. Pete, Jasper, and I refused to let him sulk. We partied with him, went to football games, and had him act more like a twenty-three year old bachelor should. As a result, he was more relaxed and fun-loving than he'd ever been. We all were.

Peter Whitlock was an enigma. He was Jasper's friend from the time they served in Maria's army, Jasper considered him to be his brother. He's also the one that helped him escape. Until about ten years ago, he had a companion named Charlotte. She was cool as beans and she and her mate were frequent visitors at Pete's. Unlike us, she and Pete had an amicable break up. They had known they weren't mates and never got married. When the day came that she met her mate, she told Peter right away, before making a move on Garrett. When they broke up, Pete gave her ten million dollars without any hesitation at all. He wanted to do it because they had spent so many happy years together.

A couple of years after that, his gift told him that he would need to attend law school, so he did. He didn't know why, but he knew that it would be critical that he attended and that he would need to inform Jasper only. About a month before our wives broke up with us, Pete got another message that he'd need to draw up divorce papers for us so that's exactly what he did. It worked out well for us. We no longer have to go through Jenks for anything and he only does legal work and forgery for himself, the three of us, Charlotte, and Garrett.

Pete suddenly put his finger under his chin and donned a perplexed expression on his face. He nodded his head, shrugged his shoulders, then announced, "Guys, we're going to Vegas right now."

"Um, why?" I asked.

"Because shit's going down and we need to be there. I don't know what's going on, but it'll be good shit. Really good shit. I'm serious."

"Pete, was it your gift that told you we should go?" Carlisle inquired.

"Sure was."

"Okay, let's go then." Carlisle wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to doubt Peter's gift. None of us were.

We packed a few sets of clothes and hopped into Carlisle's SUV for the three hour drive to Las Vegas.

When we got into the Las Vegas city limits, Peter had Carlisle pull into a Bass Pro Shops.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," he told us.

A few minutes later, he came out carrying three cases of hand warmers. He passed a case to Carlisle, a case to me, and kept one for himself.

"We need to keep these in our pockets at all times. Keep refreshing them," he instructed.

"Hey, how come I don't get any?" Jasper asked.

"You won't need them." Peter grinned and wagged his eyebrows at Jasper.

We checked into a suite at the Hard Rock Hotel. I could smell the scent of sweet pussy everywhere and I was horny as all hell. We all were. Pete hadn't been laid in ten years, the rest of us in four.

"Hey, Carlisle."

"Hm?"

"Is it possible for a vampire to fuck a human?"

"Of course it is. The problem lies in the fact that you have to be extra gentle with them and you have to be careful not to be overcome by your bloodlust and feed from them upon your release."

"Have you ever fucked a human?"

"No, never."

"How about you, Jasper?"

"Not without killing them."

"Which brings me to the challenge that I have for the four of us," Pete announced devilishly. "This weekend our challenge is to find four willing human girls, fuck them, and leave them alive. Are you guys in?"

Was I? I had to really think about this one. I mean, what if I slipped?

**So, what did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. As always, I promise to reply to your reviews. I can't wait to hear from you. XOXO**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for your fabulous reviews, faves, and alerts! You guys are awesome and made me all gooey inside. So, things will be moving along in this chapter with four characters chiming in with their opinions.**

**A/N: LunarEclipse1 created a fabulous banner for this story. It's truly awesome, go to my profile page, click on the link, and let me know what you think.**

**Warning: If you are offended by swearing, sex, or inappropriate behavior, it's best that you do not read this story. **

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Angela's POV**

"Holy fuck! This place is the bomb!" Jess cried as we were shown around our penthouse suite.

"You guys! There's a hot tub located in the middle of the room!" Lauren called.

The three of us bolted to her. Lauren was already sitting in the tub stark naked. The rest of us joined her without hesitation. I mean, it was just us girls.

We sat in the giant tub and chatted about what was in store for us this weekend.

"Okay, I'm issuing a challenge."

"A challenge?" Bella questioned Lauren.

"Yes, a challenge. This weekend, we each have to have a one night stand with a delectably hot guy."

"Um, I'm not so sure..."

"Bella, we have to do this. We're in Vegas. What happens here, stays here."

A one night stand? I've never had one of those before, but then again it might be fun.

"Okay, I'll do it!" I announced, confidently.

Bella and Jess stared at me wide eyed.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of sexually transmitted diseases?" Jess asked.

"I'm not saying be stupid about it. The guy absolutely has to wear a condom, there's no doubt about that. We just have to do something that we normally wouldn't do."

Bella raised one eyebrow at Lauren.

"Alright, something you three normally wouldn't do. Besides, I haven't had a one-night stand in two years. That guy Riley was my last one."

"He was hot," Bella sighed.

"Yeah, he was. And he gave us free drinks all night. Do you think I should have dated him for a while? We would have saved a bundle on drinks."

"Nah, you said he kept farting in bed. It wouldn't have lasted."

"Good point. So, are you two in, or is it just going to be me and Angela?"

"I'm in," Jess said, resolutely.

"What about you, Bella?"

"Okay," she sighed.

Oh my God! What the hell have we just committed to? If my parents were listening in, they would probably perform an exorcism right here and now. Fortunately, they think that I'm the ultimate sinner and have completely disowned me. Thank God that Lauren's mom took me in on graduation day. This was all because I wouldn't get back together with Ben in high school. Ridiculous, if you ask me.

My parents were so parochial in their views. Everything was tied to the church and the Bible, and they were hell bent on maintaining the image that they had built for themselves. After I broke up with Ben in high school, my mother and father actually ordered me to get back together with him because he was going to Stanford.

"_He may not be a minister's son, but he is going to be a doctor. He'll be able to support you and your kids easily. You won't have to work and you'll be able to volunteer at the church more often,"_ my mom said. _"Besides, his family are very involved in our church."_

"_Mom, I'm not getting back together with him. Can't you understand? He actually thinks I'm beneath him because I didn't get into Stanford University. He wanted me to attend a community college. I've already gotten into several good schools and with scholarships, too."_

"_Angela, he's right, you're only a girl. Women are incapable of thinking for themselves. You need to obey your future husband and do as he says,"_ my father stated.

"_Are you fucking with me?"_

_Slap! "Don't you use that vile word with me, young lady. Now, you'll do as I say and get back together with Ben. He's your future!" _ _Slap! Slap! Smack! _Then he took his belt off and started whipping me with it.

"_No!"_ I seethed. _"And don't you ever lay your hands on me again!"_

My face and body were burning in pain and I bolted out of my house. Lauren's house was the closest and I frantically knocked on her door. Fortunately, she and Patricia, Lauren's mom, were home. They took one look at my face and called Charlie who I had never seen so angry in my life. When he took me to my parents' house to retrieve my belongings he seized my father by his shirt collar and told him exactly what he thought of his actions towards me. Although I didn't press any charges, Charlie put through a restraining order against my parents so they couldn't approach me. He helped me load up my belongings and drove me to Patty's house. He also said that I was welcome at his house at anytime.

After Patty and Charlie eloped last summer, he started contributing towards my housing and living expenses in Seattle so I could drop my hours down to part time. Pat did the best that she could, but it was tough on her because she didn't make as much money as a hairdresser. Charlie, though, made enough money to contribute towards both my rent and Bella's. As a result, with all of our parents putting money towards our housing and living expenses, we only had to work part time to pay for our food and money to go out with. Patty and Charlie took care of our textbook expenses, too. That amounted to a considerable amount each semester. On top of that, the two of them drove down once every two months to see us, and Patty would take care of our haircuts and color, then. Bella was the only one that didn't get her hair colored. Why would she? She had such beautiful mahogany hair. By the way, Charlie Swan looked younger and hipper since he and Patty tied the knot. She made him shave his mustache and she brought his hairstyle up to date. He even gels it now. That was Lauren's idea.

I couldn't help, but smile warmly at Bella, Jess, and Lauren. They were my best friends, no—sisters really. They would do anything for me and I would do anything for them. That's just how it was always going to be.

**Carlisle's POV**

The challenge: find four willing human girls, fuck them, and leave them alive. Four years ago, I would have never even considered such a thing, but now things were different. My ex-wife has gone lesbian with my one-time daughter. Do lesbian mates mark each other? Hmm...

"Carlisle, what are you thinking about?" Jasper asked.

"Do lesbian mates mark each other?"

"Do Esme and Rose even know about marking?"

"What's marking?" Emmett questioned.

"Well, there's your answer right there. If Emmett doesn't know, chances are that the four dunderfucks don't know either."

"Well, what is it Jasper?"

"Marking is something that happens between mates only. In the throes of passion, you bite them and release your venom into their carotid artery or their femoral artery. It infuses your scent into them so other vampires are aware that your mate belongs to another vampire. It also, supposedly, strengthens the bond between mates. Obviously, I've never done it because I still haven't met my mate yet, but from what I hear it's completely instinctual."

"How do we know when we've met our mates?"

"Apparently, when the time is right, we feel some sort of electricity charging through our system when we touch them."

"Wow, Rose really wasn't my mate. I've never felt anything, but cold and empty being near her."

I really felt bad. I should have told Emmett all of this when I first sired him. I used to be so ashamed about being a vampire that I neglected to share some important key points with him. Since Esme left me for Rose, I did some serious soul searching. Part of the reason why I thought that vampires were bad was because my father, a pastor, used to lead hunts to destroy all evil including witches, vampires, and werewolves. It was instilled in me, from my youth, that those three things were bad. When I became a vampire, I realized that my father never really killed the real things—innocent human beings died as a result of the self-righteous prick's hunts. But the damage was already done, I woke up as a vampire thinking that I had become some sort of an evil creature because my father had ingrained in me that vampires were evil from a very young age. That's why I denied my instincts and hunted animals for so long.

When I formed my own coven, I shared my same deluded philosophy with them. That's why Alice, Edward, Esme, and Rose hated the fact that they were vampires, and they also thought that they were above all vampires who fed from humans.

Emmett, on the other hand, never felt that way. He saw the good in all people, he was raised that way by his parents, and it was something that Rose, nor I, could ever change in him, thank God. While most of the family, including myself at the time, felt that Peter Whitlock was the scum of the earth for feeding off of humans, Emmett instantly saw the good in him. Sure, the man was crass and snarky, but he was still a good man.

Jasper was always his own person. Alice may have tried to change the way he dressed and talked, but he showed up at my house wealthier than I was, and with full knowledge of vampirism. He knew that there were good vampires and bad vampires no matter what their choice of blood variety was. He and Peter had been friends a long time. He had come back, risking his own life, to save Jasper from Maria's clutches. Only a good person would do that. When my entire family, with the exception of Emmett, scoffed at Peter and told Jasper that he was evil because he fed from humans; Jasper told them straight that they had no idea what true evil was and that it wasn't determined by whether you fed from animals or humans. Jasper knew what true evil was, and he was absolutely correct in his ascertainment. I was the one who had it all wrong.

Well, no more, I was through denying the fact that I was a vampire and, for the first time ever, I felt revitalized and recharged. Maybe it was the fact that I was feeding from humans now, I don't know. All I knew was that I was proud of the fact that I was a vampire and I was through with denying my instincts. Although I was a vampire, I was still a good person. My name is Carlisle Cullen and I'm a vampire living in a human world, and a good person at that. I'm through with pretending to be human.

"So, Carlisle, are you in for the challenge, or what?" Peter asked.

"Definitely."

Emmett and Jasper soon agreed to the challenge as well. Boy, did we have a weekend in store for us.

**Jessica's POV**

Oh man, am I drunk. It was our second day in Las Vegas and we were at the REHAB pool party at the Hard Rock Cafe. We had an all access pass and we were partying up a storm.

We were in the pool, in our bikinis, and carrying around frozen margaritas. The music was pumping, the sun was shining, and we were all dancing. Last night we went dancing, then went to a male strip show and partied with some strippers. Bella and Lauren were both fawning after some guy dressed in a firefighter's uniform. After that, we returned to our awesome penthouse suite and hung out in our hot tub again. None of us met anyone that we wanted to have a one night stand with, but it was all cool. The fact was that the four of us simply enjoyed each other's company. And frankly, I wasn't too sure about this one night stand thing.

I knew that Bella was freaking out. She was still a virgin for God's sake. It's not that she wanted to stay a virgin, it was just that she never really quite met anyone to whom she wanted to give it up to. I didn't blame her. I've only had sex with Mike and, to this day, I was regretting having given into his advances so easily.

On top of that, poor Bella was nearly date raped by her, then, boyfriend two years ago. She was dating a guy named Dave Jefferson. They drove to a scenic outlook and were making out, when suddenly he threw himself on top of her and tried to have his way with her. Bella asked him to stop repeatedly, but he wouldn't. He hit her in the face and ripped her clothes off. Bella kneed him in the groin, doused him with pepper spray, and ran. She called her dad while she was running and Charlie called the Seattle Police who were able to find her and bring her to safety. Charges were filed against Dave for attempted rape, and he was currently serving five years in prison.

After that, Charlie came down to Seattle and armed all of us with pepper spray and police whistles, and signed us all up for karate lessons. He was paying for all four of us still.

Some guy suddenly picked me up and placed me on his shoulders. Oh, ugh. He's one of those disgusting oiled up, super muscly guys that could be on the cover of Steroids Weekly. Blech. I'm really going to have to find a way to extract myself from his hold.

I caught Angela's eye and dragged my index finger across my forehead. That was our secret sign for, "I need help." She went and grabbed Lauren and Bella. The three of them approached me and Mister Oily Muscly.

Bella looked up at me and whispered loud enough for my captor to hear, "Jess, um, I'm not so sure if riding on Mr. Bulky's shoulders is a good idea for a pregnant girl. What if he drops you and you lose the baby."

I was down in a flash. Mr. Bulky and several other guys in the vicinity who heard Bella hightailed it away from me.

"Bella, did you have to use the pregnant thing? You even scared some of the cute dudes away."

"Yeah, well, if they can't stay with you just because you're pregnant, they're not keepers."

"I'm not pregnant, though."

"I know that! I'm just stating the facts. Any guy who runs from a pregnant girl is commitment phobic."

"Here! Here!" Lauren cheered.

"Can I just say something?" Angela asked.

"Shoot."

"I need a refill. I mean this sun is scorching. It completely melted my margarita."

"No shit, I think it's like a hundred degrees out here. What I'd do for a frozen man to hold me," I commented.

For some reason, Bella's eyes widened for a brief second. "Well, that's just not possible. Frozen men just don't exist."

"I know, silly."

"They really don't."

"Yes, Bella, I know."

"Um, good. Just so you know."

We refilled our drinks and partied some more. We were hanging out with a group of hot guys in the pool. Angela was so plastered that she was grinding into a yummy looking Latino guy as they danced. Suddenly, four chicks came wandering over and started chewing us out.

One of them, Angela's guy's girlfriend, stalked up to her and shoved her off of him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, bitch?"

"Hey, take your hands off of my friend!" Bella looked feral with her hands on her hips.

"What? You think that you can take me?" she asked.

I smelled danger. Her three friends flanked her side and those women looked like female pro boxers. I had to protect my friends. I took my margarita and poured it over the angry girl's head. Lauren took Angela's hand, I took Bella's, and the four of us ran away from the pool party and back to our rooms.

"Gee whiz! That was close," I gasped when we got back into our suite.

"No shit! Those women looked they were ready to attack us. Good thinking with pouring the drink over her head, Jess," Lauren said.

"I can't believe those guys were hanging out and flirting with us when they had girlfriends. What jerks!" Bella seethed.

"I can't believe I threw myself onto that one guy," Angela sighed.

"Meh, that's okay, we all do stupid shit sometimes. He was a hottie anyway," Lauren said.

"Lauren, you think every guy is hot."

"True." She shrugged her shoulders.

I just hope we don't run into those women again while we're in Vegas.

**Peter's POV**

We were getting down tonight. Yes, sir, we were. All four of us would be leaving Las Vegas happy men. That much I knew. My gift has been tingling on overdrive since we arrived here. We were dressed for a night out on the town. The sun had just gone down, so the four of us were finally able to leave the hotel and cruise the crowded Las Vegas Strip on foot. We had spent the day gambling at the hotel casino. Between Jasper's and my gifts, the four of us were able to win some big bucks. I caught sight of a huge party limo as it drove by. Two girls, a pretty brunette and a gorgeous blonde with striking green eyes had their torsos dangling out of the sunroof and were screaming their heads off. They were obviously partying it up this weekend. I couldn't take my eyes off of the blonde, she was so pretty.

The limo soon drove away and the four of us continued walking along the strip. I couldn't take my mind off of the blonde girl. She seemed really fun-loving, the type to just let go and enjoy herself. Just my type of girl. Maybe I'll run into her later tonight. My gift started tingling just then. Oh, I will. I will run into her later tonight.

We decided to go to the Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The place was hopping, but after greasing the palms of both bouncers with a couple hundred bucks each, the four of us were let in immediately. We found a table and sat down to watch all of the humans party it up.

"Alright guys, we find four human girls to make love to, but we can't eat them," I told the guys. "Got it?"

"Aw, I like eating them," Jasper whined.

"You can still eat their pussies, Jasper. Just don't eat them, eat them."

"Oh, got it."

"Yeah, but how do we know which ones to go for?" Emmett asked.

"I'll tell you. You trust me, right?"

"As long as it's your gift talking, yes."

"Fuck!" Carlisle snapped, suddenly. We looked up in the direction that he was glaring. Just our luck, the two mindfuckers and the two lesbos were heading straight for us.

"Oh my God! It's so good to see you guys!" Alice squealed.

Oh, my head. Her voice sounds like fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard.

"I can't say the same thing myself," Jasper snapped directly.

Rose rolled her eyes, while pussy boy pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So, what are you doing in Las Vegas?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Jazzy, let's let bygones be bygones, okay. I'm so blissfully happy with my Eddie Pooh."

I want to barf all over the bitch. Jasper just rolled his eyes.

"Good for you," I said. "Now fuck off and go roll around in bliss in your manure."

The four of them shook their heads then headed for the bar to order drinks. Just then, my gift started prodding my membranes. I looked in the direction of the entrance and the blonde party limo babe from earlier had just walked in with the brunette and two more of her pretty friends.

"Gentlemen, I believe our conquests have just entered the building," I said pointing to my head, indicating that it was my gift talking.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Emmett asked.

"They just walked in."

The three turned to look, their eyes widened, and told me that it was impossible. They knew those girls from the time they were in Forks and the brunette was Edward's ex-girlfriend that they abandoned. My gift kept tingling, though, so I knew that these were the girls.

"I hope you have your hand warmers ready because those are the women we're meant to party with."

"Well, shit. If you say so, Pete. I'll take Jessica. She's the one with the medium brown hair and the big titties."

"Good, I'll take the hot blonde one, Carlisle, you take the tall brown haired girl, and Jasper, you take the mouthwatering brunette."

"No way! The last time I saw Bella, I tried to take a bite out of her."

"So, you won't this time. Or, are you backing out of a challenge?"

"I never back out of a challenge," he growled.

We watched as the four girls started dancing. They seemed like they were already drunk. The brunette noticed us and peered into our eyes. She shook her head and went back to dancing with her friends. They soon made their way to the bar, started doing shots and talking. They seemed like they were really tight, almost like sisters.

Alice, Edward, Esme, and Rose suddenly rushed back to our table.

"We need to leave. Bella's here," Edward spoke pointedly at Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper.

"So." Jasper shrugged his shoulders.

"I made a promise to her that it would be as if we never existed when I broke up with her."

"Not my problem. I didn't make any sort of promise to her."

"Why the fuck would you promise her something like that?" Emmett asked, angrily.

"Come on, Emmett. You know that the human memory is like a sieve. Time heals all wounds for their kind."

"And I'm sure that, in your infinite wisdom, you told her that, too," Carlisle growled sarcastically.

"Yes, he did," a pretty voice chimed in. She took a look at Alice's hand in Edward's and added, "I can see what kept you distracted."

"Bella, I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry about it. You mean absolutely nothing to me. Well, actually, your name does mean something—I can recall looking up 'worthless prick' in Webster's Dictionary and, oddly, it was defined as Edward Cullen. Who knew? Oh, yeah, I did."

"How the hell can you say that about him? He was nothing but nice to you!" Rosalie seethed.

"Really? Manipulative maybe, but nice? That's stretching it, don't you think?"

Esme put her arm around Rosalie to keep her calm. She kissed her on the lips with tongue.

"Ooh, some girl on girl action. I guess I wasn't the only one that was strung along. What happened? Did they abandon you fuckers in the woods, too?" Bella asked Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper.

"What do you mean by you were abandoned in the woods?" Jasper questioned. His teeth were clenched, his fists were balled up, and he was growling.

"Oh, you didn't know..." Bella started.

"Bella, that was a private conversation between you and Edward. It's not meant to be repeated in front of others," Alice interrupted.

"Well, then, how come you know about it, if it's so...um...private? Oh, I know, you must have planned the whole thing." Bella donned a perplexed expression and started rubbing her temples, mimicking Alice whenever she got a vision. We all started laughing.

"I'll tell you the story," my pretty blonde strode up to the table. "Edward broke up with Bella in the woods and didn't even have the decency to walk her home. She could have been mauled by a bear, or attacked by a wolf, or skunked, for that matter. Anyway, there was a huge search party involving all of Forks and La Push, and, in the end, they found her with hypothermia at three in the morning. She was in the hospital for four days. My mom is going to break his nose the next time she sees him. You, Edward Cullen are the pariah of Forks. Don't ever bother setting foot in that town again."

"I can't believe you told people about our break-up. Have you no decency or respect for what we once had?" Edward asked Bella.

"I'm sorry, when my father, the Chief of Police, asks me a question, I answer it; particularly when the fucking moron that I had been dating puts my life in danger."

Bella's other two friends approached the table. They gasped in shock at the sight of Edward and Alice, and Esme and Rosalie together.

"I told you the family was tapped," Jessica whispered into Bella's ear. "They're inbred."

"She did, you know," the other girl, whose name I still didn't know agreed.

"Trust me, it's just those four that are tapped," Bella said. "Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper are normal. I don't know the other dude, I've never met him. He looks freaky, though."

"Are you kidding me? He's hot," my blonde stated, and I could smell the sweet scent of her arousal wafting to my nose. I inhaled a deep breath.

"You think everyone's hot. You used to think Edward Cullen was hot."

"So did you."

"Touche, I had major vision problems back then. They've since been repaired."

I squeezed the hand warmers and made sure that my hands were nice and toasty. I stood up and introduced myself. "The name's Peter Whitlock." I stuck my hand out to shake theirs.

"Jessica," titty girl said.

"Hi, I'm Angela," the tall girl giggled.

"I'm Bella. Hand warmers? Really?" she whispered for only the vampires to hear. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper broke out in chuckles.

"I'm Lauren," the blonde girl said with a smile. Fuck me. Electricity. Sparks. Shit. She's my mate.

Alice suddenly shook her head. "Ugh, Bella, what are you doing here?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Well, would you mind leaving the club. We're having a family discussion here."

"Um, just to let you know, they're not our family," Emmett informed Bella.

"Yes, I would mind, Alice. You see, this is America, it's a free country and my friends and I can roam where we want to. In fact, I think I'll just plant my ass right here in between Jasper and my new buddy, Peter," she smirked and did just that.

You do that, Kitten. Bring that bodacious ass of yours right in between me and Jasper. We'll protect you. Hot damn, the girl meant for Jasper was all kinds of sexy and her scent was just plain mouthwatering...and there's something else...something...fuck, she's a virgin! That lucky bastard. Meh, I like them more experienced anyway.

"Bella, language please," Edward had the audacity to chastise her.

"What the fuck did you say to her? You little prick!" Lauren got right up into his face. "Don't you dare tell my best friend what to do. You have no right! You worthless, spineless, piece of shit!"

"You go girl! Tell the turd brain how it is!" Jess cheered.

The four girls angrily stared down the two twisted couples.

"Bella, when did you become like this? You were always so proper, you were never this crass."

"Breaking news. I've always been this crass, fucker. I was just pretending to be someone I wasn't when I was with you. Oh, but you're really good at that, aren't you?"

He seemed shocked by her candor.

"Um, I can attest to the fact that she has a mouth like a sailor," Angela added. "Remember the Marines..."

"Shh!" Bella silenced her.

What Marines? Damn it, now I need to find out all about this.

"So, may I offer you ladies a drink?" I asked, politely.

"Sure, I'll take a margarita," Lauren said. Angela and Jessica both nodded in agreement.

"Double shot of Jack, straight," Bella stated. I saw Jasper grin at that. Fucker could live in a barrel of Jack Daniels and never leave. Actually, so could I, come to think of it.

"Just order a bottle of Jack Daniels, Pete," Jasper suggested happily.

"I can't believe you're drinking such an unladylike beverage," Alice stated in disbelief. "And you're dressed so...so...common. What happened to all of those nice clothes I bought for you?"

"Oh, I donated them to the needy. You should be happy to know that you did a community service."

Alice bared her teeth at Bella. Jasper and I both put a protective arm around her.

I flagged our waitress down and ordered their drinks. "Make sure that you put whatever these four beautiful ladies order tonight on my tab. The two couples over there aren't with our party. We don't know who they are," I added. "Um, you four can skedaddle now."

"No, I think we'll join you," Edward said.

"Why you sanctimonious, little prick! What the fuck? Are you trying to fuck up everyone's evening? No one here wants your egotistical ass here with us. We're trying to enjoy ourselves. Now, would you take your incestuous family with you and fuck off. Keep your fucking promise to me, Edward Cullen. Make like you don't exist. Go on! Scat!" Bella hollered at the top of her lungs.

"Is there a problem here?" a bouncer came to our table and asked.

The four girls turned to him and smiled sweetly. "Yes, this man here won't leave my friend alone. They used to date, but she broke up with him. Now, he's taken to stalking her. My friend is just trying to enjoy her time with her boyfriend right there," Angela explained. "This monster even has a restraining order out against him."

Bella acted like she was terrified and leaned into Jasper. He hammed it up, put his arm around her, and pulled her onto his lap. He had a look of amazement and realization on his face while Bella donned a shocked look.

The bouncer approached the two couples. "I'm going to have to ask you four to leave. We don't need any trouble with the law here."

"She's lying, sir." Rose smiled at the bouncer sweetly, trying to dazzle him.

"Sir, my friend would never lie. She's a minister's daughter. You can call my father if you need confirmation. He's the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington." Bella smiled innocently at the bouncer. Wow, did she just one-up Rose, or what?

"Look, if you four don't leave, we're going to have to call the cops and have you forcibly removed. Now which is it?"

"We're leaving, now," Esme assured the bouncer, and quickly turned towards the entrance.

The four of them were escorted out of the club by the bouncer.

As they were leaving, Alice whispered to Edward, "I can't see any of them anymore. What's going on, Eddie Pooh?"

"I don't know, but I think it's best we stay away from them. Clearly they're beneath us and not the type of people that we want to associate with. Did you notice that Carlisle was wearing contacts? I'm sure he's succumbed to their inhumane way of life. I wouldn't be surprised if they were in contact with the Volturi."

"Oh, goodbye and good riddance!" Bella called after them, cheerfully. You know, I really like her. She's totally cool.

"So, Angela, I've always meant to tell you, my father was a religious leader, too. He was an Anglican pastor."

"Really? I feel so bad for you. I can't stand my parents. They're views on the world are so parochial."

"I never knew my mother, but my father's views were pretty skewed. I didn't get along very well with him either. He had no compassion whatsoever."

"My parents wrote me off before I even graduated from high school. I live with Lauren's mom and Bella's dad now whenever I go back to Forks."

"With both of them?" Carlisle asked curiously.

"Oh, my dad and her mom eloped in Reno last year. It shocked the hell out of us, but when we thought about it, the two of them would always ride in together whenever they came to visit us in Seattle," Bella explained. "That's over six hours roundtrip together in the car."

"Is that where you live, Seattle?"

"Yes, we're due to start our senior year at the University of Washington."

"What are your majors?"

"I'm a nursing major," Angela said.

"Education," Jessica replied.

"Psychology," my girl stated.

"And you, Bella?"

"Oh, Bella's going to be attending college for her entire life since she won't be able to get a job with her majors."

"And what major is that?"

"I'm dual majoring in English and history. I couldn't decide between the two, you see. I like them both. I'm thinking of adding on a third major in anthropology, or maybe sociology. But, then again, maybe I should just go for my master's degree, or even get a PhD."

"Do you see what I mean? None of her majors lead to jobs. My mom and her dad are battening down the hatches so they can support her for the rest of their lives. What she should really do is major in culinary arts. She's an amazing cook," Lauren said.

"I'd love to sample some of your cooking," Jasper stated.

"Oh, anytime," Bella chuckled, then whispered, "I may be your food source, but the blood's not for sampling. Oh, and tell your buddy with the shit-eating grin to blink or something. He's been sitting in the same position, staring at Lauren, without moving, for the last ten minutes."

Shit, I wasn't used to interacting with humans. I started blinking my eyes rapidly.

"Did you get something in your eyes?" Lauren asked.

"Uh, contacts. His eyes get really dry sometimes," Jasper said quickly.

Jasper followed me to the bathroom. Both of us threw in new contacts lenses. I was shoved up against the wall with Jasper's hand wrapped around my neck within seconds.

"What the fuck is going on Pete? Why are we here? What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, I just knew that we had to be here, just like I knew that those four girls were meant for us. I didn't know in what capacity until I shook Lauren's hand. I think they're meant to be our mates. Correction, I know that Lauren is my mate. I've never felt that much electricity in my life. My whole body still has volts churning through it."

"She's so different, Peter; stronger, more self-assured, she's..."

"She's your mate, Jasper. She was made for you. She wasn't made for that pussy Edward, he was just a bump in the road on her way to you, designed to make her the woman she is today. The same goes for Alice, you were never meant for her. She was only there so you could realize that the Major is his own man and he was no longer going to be manipulated by anyone—man or woman. Bella, she's your woman. You know this. She was designed for you. Only a woman with that much hutzpah is worthy enough to be the Major's mate."

Jasper gulped at the realization and released his hold on me.

"I knew this," he admitted. "I knew this in Phoenix, but I thought it was impossible for a vampire to be mated to a human so I just shrugged it off. She accidentally brushed up against me in Phoenix and I felt sparks. I was the one to kill James, the vampire who tried to hurt her. It wasn't Edward, it was me. I was hell bent on killing him and keeping her safe. It was like I was possessed. I fucked up, Peter. I should have never left Forks."

"No, Jasper. You needed to leave Forks. You, Carlisle, and Emmett all did. Those four girls needed to form a bond just like the four of us did. We all needed to become stronger, that's why it took until today for fate to bring us all together. Everything that happened in the last four years, happened to bring us to this day."

"Did Alice know about this?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's possible, but then again, maybe not. The bitch is so focused on her own future that I'm pretty sure that she doesn't bother with anyone else's unless it's to her benefit or her mate's. I don't think you being Bella's mate has even entered her visions."

"You're probably right."

"Now, let's get out there and fire up our mates. The challenge is still on, you know. Oh, and your mate's a virgin."

"I know, her blood is completely untainted. I can smell it. Your mate's um...experienced."

"That's how I like 'em. You know that."

"Yeah, well, with Lauren Mallory you'll be getting a lot of experience," he chuckled. "She was like a one woman drive-thru in Forks."

Well hot damn! I've hit the mother lode!

**So, what did y'all think? Now that you have more background information on the characters, did you think I paired them off appropriately? Carlisle has certainly done some serious soul searching, hasn't he? Do you all want to murder Angela's parents? How about Alice and Edward? Should we throw them into the pyre too? Did you like how the girls all stood defiantly in front of Alice and Edward? What did you think of Petey? I'd love to hear your opinions. Let me know in your review and I promise to respond. XOXO mama4dukes**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all of your reviews, messages, faves, and alerts! I'm truly having a blast writing this tale. So, without further ado, I bring you the couple of the hour.**

**Warning: If you are offended by swearing, sex, or inappropriate behavior, it's best that you do not read this story.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Jasper's POV**

Isabella Marie Swan is my mate, and a feisty one at that. She handed both Edward and Alice's asses to them tonight and she didn't shirk in fear or back down. The girl did not like them and she let them know clearly.

Her friends backed her up like friends should. Bella had kept our secret, that much was clear, but she had told them just enough information so they knew how Edward had treated her.

If I ran into the fucker again, he was going to die. I can't believe he abandoned her in the woods. Lauren said that she could have been attacked by an animal, but I knew for a fact that there were other creatures lurking in the forest in Forks. Four days of hospitalization due to a break up? That was ridiculous. Edward could have just broken up with her in a safer place. That is, unless Alice told him to break up with her there because she knew that Bella would get hurt. It was always a possibility with that manipulative bitch. I intended to interrogate Bella later to find out more about what happened.

Pete and I returned to the table and were greeted with the surprise of our lives. The girls were all doing body shots off of Emmett. In fact, Emmett was currently sprawled out on the table and lying on his back. Jessica was hovering over Em, had a shot glass of Jack Daniels squished between her tits, and was dribbling some into his mouth. Man, that girl can do amazing things with her titties.

"I need more," Emmett begged.

Jessica took another shot glass and continued feeding him his drink. I noticed that he flicked her nipple with his tongue over the fabric of her dress. Meanwhile, Lauren had a shot glass balanced in the apex of his thighs. She covered her mouth over the glass and woofed it down in on one go. Then she proceeded to kiss his dick over his pants.

I had to hold Pete back from trying to attack Emmett. It was way too soon to tell them that we were vampires or that they were our mates.

"You like them experienced, Pete. Look at the way she's mauling his dick over his pants. She'll be doing that to you in the flesh in no time," I told him. That seemed to calm him down, just a little.

"Yeah, oral, lots and lots of oral," he said dreamily.

Angela balanced a shot glass off of Emmett's chest, then went back to conversing with Carlisle. They were in deep conversation and seemed to get along very well. And Bella...where the hell is Bella?

"Lauren, where's Bella?" I asked.

"No idea." She scanned the bar, then suddenly spoke, "Why that little bitch! I saw him first!" She bolted away from the table and disappeared into the crowd. I followed her with my eyes and found Bella.

What the fuck? She was chatting up some built dude and flirting away. Lauren approached the pair, giggled, and joined Bella in flirting with the guy. It was as if they were competing for his attention.

"Oh no, not again," Jessica sighed.

"The firefighter?" Angela asked.

"Yep, him again. He's not going to give them the time of day, the guy's a flamer."

"So, let the two idiots make fools of themselves. Oh my God! They're dragging him out to the dance floor."

"He can move. Look at that ass!"

"Of course, he can move Jess. The guy's a male stripper. It's his profession."

Jessica, then whispered into Angela's ear, not knowing that we could hear her clearly, "I think they're trying to nab him for the challenge?"

"What challenge?" Carlisle asked so only Emmett, Peter, and I could hear.

"He's not going to agree to having a one night stand with them. His boyfriend is sitting right there," she whispered back.

Oh, fuck no. Bella's not giving it up to no fag over a fucking challenge. Damn it, she's my mate. That pussy is going to be fucked by me and only me.

"Hey, why don't we check out a different club," Pete suggested. He was clearly annoyed by his mate throwing herself at the stripper.

The girls agreed and Pete closed out the tab. Angela and Jess went to grab Bella and Lauren.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the four bitches from the pool party." Four scary looking, muscle bound women who were built like fighters approached our women.

"Oh look, it's the girl who poured her drink over your head, Tina." The biggest of the bunch stalked up to Jessica.

"Get your fucking hands off of her. It's not our fault that you can't keep your men on a short leash!" Lauren yelled.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Bella put herself between Jessica and Tina and clocked her in the nose with a perfect jab, causing her to bleed.

"Run!" she yelled to her friends. Angela, Jessica, and Lauren bolted out of the club with Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter on their heels.

The woman, Tina, moved to throw a counter punch, but Bella ducked quickly and avoided it. I was over there at vampire speed, threw Bella caveman style over my shoulder, and ran her out of the club.

"In the limo, right there!" Bella pointed.

I hopped inside where everyone was waiting. Lauren ordered the limo driver to take off.

The girls all started laughing.

"I swear, Bella, you've got some balls on you. That bitch looked like she was about to eat you alive," Jess said.

Bella's eyes widened. "Um, that's not possible. People can't eat people alive."

"Yeah, yeah, and frozen men don't exist."

"I swear, Bella. Sometimes you take things so seriously."

"I'm just telling you. Just so you know," she gulped.

"Yes, you silly goose. I know."

Bella flicked her right wrist over and glanced at the mark that James had given her. Peter's eyes widened as he caught sight of it. I hadn't told him about the fact that he had bitten her and that Edward pulled the venom out. She caught Pete's eyes and quickly turned her wrist over so he couldn't see it anymore.

"How did you girls get this party limo?" Emmett inquired. I was curious, too. It seemed a bit over-budget for four college students. I mean, it was a stretch Hummer with a stripper pole and a hot tub inside.

"Oh, I won a radio contest. All I had to do was answer a question correctly in order to win this all expense paid trip to Las Vegas."

"What was the question?"

"What town in Washington is under a near-constant cover of clouds and boasts over two hundred eleven days of rainfall on average per year?"

"Forks," we all answered simultaneously.

"You wouldn't know that unless you were from there or you've lived there. When I went to pick up the prize package, the DJ said that he went through over two hundred wrong answers until he got to me. Hey, where do you guys live now?"

"Arizona, about three hours away," Pete answered.

"No kidding. I'm from Arizona. What town do you live in?" Bella asked.

"Fredonia."

"The gateway to the Grand Canyon."

"You seem to know Arizona well."

"I lived there until I was seventeen."

"Ah."

"So, where to next?" Angela asked.

"Fuck if I know, let's ask the limo driver for a suggestion." Lauren pushed a button that patched her through with the driver. "Excuse me, can you suggest a good nightclub? One that we can get into for free with our passes."

"How about Pure at Caesar's Palace. A lot of celebrities go there."

"Sounds great to me."

"Okay, I'm heading there now, ladies."

We were dropped off at Pure, there was a line a mile long to get in. Even with their passes, the girls were told they would have to wait. That is, until Carlisle handed the club manager ten crisp hundred dollar bills. After that, we were all shown straight to the VIP section with his pleasure.

The girls excused themselves to use the ladies room as soon as we arrived. We asked them what they wanted to drink before they left. They gave us their order and we started a bottle service while they were gone.

Emmett was the first to speak. "I think Jessica's my mate. I felt electricity as soon as her tits touched my mouth, and I didn't feel any from Lauren when she was kissing my dick over my pants."

"I've got news for you guys. I think that's why we're here. Lauren's my mate and Bella's definitely Jasper's. Did you feel anything with Angela yet, Carlisle?" Peter asked.

"No, but I haven't touched her yet. What the hell are we going to do? How are we going to handle this?"

"We're just gonna go with the flow. Hey, does Bella have a vampire bite on her wrist?"

"Yeah, she does. That nomad in Phoenix bit her before Jasper could kill her. Edward sucked the venom out. He didn't want her to change," Em explained.

"Holy shit!" I gasped in realization. "It was probably because he knew he was Alice's mate. That's why he didn't change her. The asshole just wanted a taste of her blood and Alice probably provided it for him. I guarantee that James and Phoenix was all planned."

"Fuck me," Carlisle muttered. "You're right. Everything just happened too conveniently, and that manipulative bitch planned everything. I think she planned everything so Edward could taste Bella's blood. I had to force him off of her because he took way more than he should have, and didn't stop when I told him to."

The four of us started growling in anger.

"Hey, what the hell was all that shit about Bella being abandoned in the woods?" Emmett asked. "Do you think that he left her there to die?"

"I have no idea. Anything is possible at this point. I can tell you this much, if she was in the hospital for four days for hypothermia, it was severe. She was nearing the stage of becoming frostbitten," Carlisle informed us. She could have lost a few limbs had that happened."

Our growls became angrier and more feral. I had no doubt that if we encountered Edward and Alice again, it would be extremely unpleasant for them. I, for one, planned on fucking Edward up and I'd get Char to fuck up Alice, too. She's never liked her so she would do it willingly, and without any qualms, for me.

The girls returned to the table and we all made space for them next to us. Interestingly enough, each girl naturally gravitated towards their mates, except for Bella, that is. She pulled a chair up and sat in it with a horrified expression on her face. The waitress brought our drinks to the table a minute later.

An hour later, Angela, Jessica, and Lauren were thoroughly drunk. They were hanging all over Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter. Bella was glued to her chair across from me with her knuckles, white as snow, clutched onto the bottom of the seat. She was staring at her friends worriedly as they made out with their mates, her drink untouched.

"So, Bella, what made you decide to major in English and history."

"I like to read, and the American Civil War was always interesting to me."

"You should talk to Jasper, the Civil War is his era," Pete said, with a wink.

"No, that's okay. I'll just sit here."

For some reason she was terrified.

"Would you like to dance, Bella?" I asked.

"No, no, I'm fine."

Damn it. Why won't she respond to me? What has her so frightened?

"I want to dance," Jess said.

"Me, too," Lauren cooed in Peter's ear.

"Yeah," Angela agreed.

The three couples took off for the dance floor. It was just me and Bella now. She was staring at me as if I were a pariah.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I asked, finally.

"What are their intentions? I mean, Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter's."

"They're just having a good time."

"They're not going to eat my friends, are they?"

"No, they would never do that."

"Because I noticed that you guys no longer have golden eyes. I can see a tinge of red, rimming your contacts."

She always was an observant one. At least now I knew what was bothering her. She thought that her friends were in danger.

"No, we're just enjoying our time here with you. Besides, we don't feed off of innocent humans. We feed off of hardened criminals—murderers, rapists, drug pushers, and such; and we also purchase donated blood that's about to expire from blood banks. We only have to feed once a month, too. Our bloodlust is minimal because we're feeding from our natural food source."

"Oh."

I walked over to the other side where Bella was sitting, knelt down, and faced her. "I won't hurt you, and your friends will be safe. I promise," I said earnestly.

Bella shrank into her chair. "I thought I was done with the supernatural after you guys left. Edward promised."

"He made a promise that he couldn't keep. He had no right to speak for the rest of us. Let me tell you about what happened after your birthday party. Why don't you come and sit with me on the loveseat so I don't have to yell across to you over the music?"

"No, I'm fine here. You don't have to tell me. I really don't want to know."

I picked up Bella's chair with her in it and moved it next to the loveseat.

"Okay, this is good, too." Bella nodded her head up and down, fearfully.

I explained to her what happened between the four cheaters and us.

"Wait a minute, are you saying that Edward was cheating on me since before Phoenix and throughout the summer until my birthday?"

"Yes."

"Oh, well, that kind of hurts."

"Yeah, it probably does. He and Alice are unfeeling, self-centered, and basically live for themselves and themselves only. They don't care about how their actions affect other people, as long as, in the end, they come out on top. Rose and Esme are the same way. They had been cheating on Emmett and Carlisle for years. Alice had divorce papers prepared for Carlisle, Emmett, and me on the night of your birthday. They asked for eighty percent of Carlisle's and my assets and for Emmett's only asset, his boyhood home. She tried to get us to sign the papers without reading them."

"But that's preposterous. How can they try to take away so much, and what use does Rose have for Emmett's boyhood home?"

"Greed, Bella. Pure and simple greed. Carlisle and I are both worth a few billion dollars. They wanted it for themselves, that's why they stayed married to us for so long. We didn't give them a single penny, except for a house in Alaska. They're also not allowed to use the names Cullen, Whitlock, or McCarty anymore. It was in the new divorce papers that they ultimately signed."

"Carlisle is the Cullen, but who are Whitlock and McCarty?"

"I'm Jasper Whitlock and Emmett's last name is McCarty."

"Oh."

"Bella, would you tell me what happened when Edward broke up with you?" I needed to know. I needed all of the blanks filled in.

"It was the 16th of September—three days after my birthday. Edward asked if we could go for a walk after school. He took me deep into the woods. He, then, proceeded to break up with me. He said that I wasn't good for him; that he didn't want me; he told me that he would make it like he never existed in my life, and added that the human memory was like a sieve and soon he would be just a small figment in my mind. He promised me that it would be the last time that I ever saw him or any members of his family again. Then, he took off at vampire speed and left me stranded. I was a fool in love back then, so I followed him and got even more lost than I already was. I don't know when I collapsed from exhaustion, but I did. Someone from La Push found me around three am and carried me out of the forest to a waiting ambulance. He asked me if Edward abandoned me in the forest, and I told him that he did—after breaking up with me. Then I passed out cold and I woke up in the hospital. Angela, Jess, and Lauren came to visit me after school the next day. Lauren handed me my ass and told me to get over Edward. She said that any guy that breaks up with his girlfriend and just abandons her in the forest is a prick. I realized that she was right, then I started thinking of all the things Edward had done to me in the past, and came to the conclusion that he was a selfish, no-good, egotistical bastard. Angela, Jess, Lauren, and I have been besties ever since."

"And that's why you're so worried about them."

"Yes. I don't want them to get hurt, and if your friends don't have honorable intentions, then I'd rather they just leave us alone right now before they have to suffer."

Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter appeared in front of Bella, then.

"Your friends are using the ladies room, Bella," Carlisle said. "I heard what you told Jasper. I'm sorry that Edward was so callous with you. I truly am. If I had any idea, I would have prevented it from happening. As for your friends, you don't have to worry about them. We would never hurt them. We could never hurt them."

"How do you know? One of us could trip and scrape our knee or get a paper cut or something and you could take off running with your tail between your legs at the first scent of blood. You just don't know."

I found it amusing how Bella said that we'd run away at the first sight of blood rather than stating that we'd drain them. It was proof that Bella, no matter what, still had faith that we wouldn't physically hurt her or her friends.

"Tell her, Jasper. Or, I will," Peter urged.

I shook my head no.

"Tell me what?"

"Bella..." I was about to tell her about us being mates, when her friends came rushing up stairs excitedly.

"Oh my God!" Jessica squealed. "We were talking to two cowboys downstairs and they told us that there's a rockin' country bar called Stoney's on the strip. We have to go. Do you guys like country music? I mean, I'm from Texas and Bella's from Arizona, so we're huge into country, but I don't know, not too many people like it. Lauren and Angela like it, but Forks is another place where country music is pretty big. We can teach you how to two-step if you don't know how."

Fuck, yeah. Now, these are our kind of women.

"Bella, what do you think? I bet they'll be a fuckton of cowboys there," Lauren tried to convince her, then whispered. "The challenge is still on. You aren't backing out are you?"

Funny, I recall hearing a similar statement from Pete a couple of hours ago.

"I never back out of a challenge," Bella muttered between gritted teeth.

"Major, isn't that the exact same answer you gave me?"

"Yep, it sure is," I chirped happily. These girls were made for us.

"We'd love to go to Stoney's with you fine ladies," Pete drawled. "Jasper and I are from Texas and Emmett here is from Tennessee. We've all been two-stepping since we were out of the cradle."

Angela, Jessica, and Lauren all fawned excitedly over Pete's statement while Bella just raised an eyebrow at him.

Carlisle settled the bill and the eight of us headed over to Stoney's in the girls' limo. As soon as the girls walked into the country bar, I could smell their arousal. Bella's in particular had a sweet scent that I had planned on partaking in as soon as the opportunity arose. She never backs out of a challenge and neither do I. This was a win-win situation for both of us.

"Motherfucker! Look at the cowboy standing by the bar, Lauren."

"Which one?"

"The one in the black Stetson."

"They're all wearing black Stetsons."

"The one in the black t-shirt."

"Oh, fuck me. Shit! Bella, he has a twin brother. An identical twin brother. Holy fuck, they're staring at us. I think I'm gonna cum right here."

"I told you we should have worn our Stetsons," I chastised Pete.

"You're not kidding."

Emmett and Jess were already two-stepping on the dance floor. Carlisle was attempting to learn under Angela's tutelage. Meanwhile, Bella and Lauren had stalked over to the bar to chat up the two cowboys.

"Contacts!" Carlisle whispered to us from the dance floor.

"Shit! Jasper your contacts are dissolving."

"So are yours," I stated taking a look at Pete. The two of us made a beeline to the men's room to throw in new contact lenses. We were just about to leave when the two wannabe cowboys from the bar walked in to take a piss.

Pete and I hung around to hear what they had to say.

"Brother, we are getting laid tonight. Did you see those two babes?"

"Oh, yeah, They're fuckhot."

"Which one are you taking, the blonde or the brunette?"

"I don't give a fuck. I just want a piece of ass."

"Same here, let's let them pick."

We were both growling while listening to the two yobos talk about our mates in a degrading manner. They finished their business and were walking toward the sink to wash their hands. Pete and I turned around and punched the two of them in the face at human strength, me using a right hook and Pete using a left hook. The two wannabe cowboys both collapsed to the bathroom floor before they could get a good look at us. I made sure that I sent them some extra sleepy juice to keep them knocked out. We moved them both into a bathroom stall. Pete and I high-fived each other on a job well done, then the two of us walked out of the men's room wearing their Stetsons with huge grins on our faces.

Bella and Lauren were standing at the bar waiting for the two pricks. Pete and I slowly approached them.

"So, do you girls want to dance?" Pete asked.

"Sure," Lauren said, immediately.

"Oh, no, sug, you're going to dance this set with Jasper. He won't leave your side. I'm gonna see if I can get Bella on the dance floor. After that, we can dance all night long together."

What? That's my mate. I glared at Peter and he just smirked at me.

I took Lauren out to the dance floor and started two-stepping with her. Meanwhile, Pete took Bella to the other side of the club, and it was a big club, to dance with her. The fucker had something underhanded planned and he had the upper hand here because I was charged with protecting his mate. I had no doubt that Bella would be safe, but damn it, I wanted to dance with her.

A few songs later and the two of them still hadn't come back. They announced a ladies bikini bull riding competition. There was a twenty dollar entry fee and it included the bikinis that they could keep. Lauren and Jessica ran up to enter. I stayed planted by Lauren's side. I didn't need Pete freaking out on me because something happened to his mate. He'd better be by my mate. What the hell did he have to talk to her about anyway?

**Bella's POV**

Peter led me to the dance floor and soon twirled me away from everyone else to the far corner off of the floor. He had me sit down and sat next to me.

"First of all, where did you and Jasper get your Stetsons?" I asked.

"You don't miss a beat, do you, pretty girl?"

"Nope, my shitty ex from high school made me extra vigilant. Plus my daddy's a cop." It was true. After Edward, I was extra conscientious about my surroundings and the people I hung out with. Naturally, I was on high alert tonight because of the fact that we were hanging out with vampires.

"Alright, I'm gonna tell ya, but you have to keep an open mind."

"Go ahead."

"Those two bastards that you and Lauren were talking to at the bar walked into the men's room and started bragging about how you two were just a piece of ass. Jasper and I got pissed off and knocked them out—at human strength, of course. They dropped their Stetsons so, seeing that they had no respect for such finely crafted American made hats, we relieved them of them."

"So, you just punched them out, just like that." I snapped my fingers to make a point.

"Yep, Jasper and I always defend our women."

"Your women?"

"Yeah, our women."

"And what makes you think that we're your women?"

"Let me ask you this," he said as he twirled me around a couple of times. "When you sat on Jasper's lap and leaned into him at that first nightclub, did you feel energy."

My eyes widened at hearing that. How the hell did he know? This was one of the reasons why I was freaking out. I kept feeling electricity going through my body when I was touching him.

"You did, didn't you?" he continued when I didn't provide an answer.

"Maybe, I did."

"Maybe or you did? It's got to be one or the other, darlin'."

"Okay, I did."

"Alright, let me ask you another question. Did you ever get that feeling coursing through your veins when you were with that pussy, Edward."

"Never, okay? Never. All I ever felt with Edward was frustrated. He worked me up into a frenzy and always rejected me. When he broke up with me, I was eighteen, a virgin, and had never even been French kissed. I think he got off on seeing me all worked up and feeling rejected afterwards. Now that I think about it, he always did this weird thing where he kept inhaling deep breaths through his nose and he'd get an eery look in his eyes, as if he were possessed. I felt nothing, but worthless each time Edward rejected me. He seemed to enjoy that. The thing is, until tonight, I've never, ever felt such electricity—it was almost like a gravitational pull, towards anyone before, until Jasper and I touched. I'm sorry. Why I'm spilling my guts to a complete stranger, I have no idea. I'm so sorry."

I was completely embarrassed. I have no idea why I just told Peter everything. He must think I'm a freak. I'm usually very guarded around everyone with the exception of Angela, Jess, and Lauren. Even with them, though, I couldn't tell them about vampires so I still had a lot of secrets. I was roused out of my rambling thoughts when Peter pulled me into his arms and hugged me. He hugged me. It wasn't a fake hug like the ones Alice used to give me. It was a true, blue genuine hug.

"Edward treated you like shit and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. He's the scum of the earth and, I for one, have never liked him. I'm pretty sure he dazzled you to make you feel that way because it seems to me that as soon as you broke up with him, you snapped out of the illusion of love that the prick created and realized all of the fallacies in your relationship. I won't ever let you get hurt like that again, kitten. And I can guarantee that Jasper will die before he sees you hurt."

"Why? Why would Jasper do that? He doesn't really know anything about me, and, frankly, I don't know a thing about him."

"Alright, let's get back to the gravitational pull that you mentioned. What you felt was very real. It's called the mating pull. It's the pull that makes you gravitate towards your mate instinctually."

"What are you saying, Peter?"

"I'm saying that Jasper is your mate, kitten."

"What? That's not..." I clamped my hand over my mouth. "Oh my God! That time in Phoenix when I brushed up against him by accident. That wasn't static electricity was it? Because I just thought about it and vampires probably can't get static electricity because you're...well...dead. He's always been my mate, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, he has, and he felt the sparks in Phoenix, too, but he brushed it off thinking that it was impossible for a vampire and a human to be mated. He was still being strung along by Malice at that point, too, and you were with Edward. But, know this, on that day, Jasper did something that only a mate would do, he went out and killed the man who hurt you. It wasn't Edward, it was Jasper that killed the man who gave you this."

Peter lifted my wrist, inspected it, and gave it a kiss.

"You're right, and Edward tried to drain me."

"Ah, you're seeing the bigger picture now, kitten. You're very smart."

"What am I supposed to do about this mating thing?"

"You won't be able to deny it. You'll be in abject misery if you try. You need to just accept things for what they are and just roll with it."

"Why are you telling me this instead of Jasper?"

"Just thought you should know."

"Oh." Well, gee, I thought he'd have a more profound reason for telling me, but I guess not.

"Come on, kitten, let's make our way back to Jasper before he comes undone worrying about you."

"Um, Peter."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," I said, gratefully. I meant it, too. I think he was the first honest vampire that I'd ever encountered. Now I just had to figure out what to do with this whole mating thing.

Peter took my hand and led me back towards Jasper. He took my hand that was in his and placed it in Jasper's. I immediately felt a surge of electricity running from my fingers, up my arm, and through my entire body.

"Jasper, where's Lauren?" Peter asked.

"She's getting ready."

"For what?"

"For the contest."

"Oh." Peter shrugged his shoulders.

He remained calm until the DJ made announcement. "Here we go everyone! It's what you've been waiting for! Get ready for the Bikini Bull Riding Competition. The grand prize winner will receive five hundred dollars in cash! So, let's bring out the girls!"

"You let my mate enter a Bikini Bull Riding Competition?" Peter questioned, furiously, in sudden realization.

"Wait a minute! Lauren's your mate?" I asked, realizing what Peter just blurted out.

"Uh, yeah, kitten, she is." He had a sheepish grin on his face.

"Oh my fuck!" I looked around the club and saw Angela and Carlisle making out, completely oblivious to the fact that they were in public. I also saw Emmett, who was anxiously standing directly in front of the mechanical bull while wringing his hands. It dawned upon me that Jess might have entered the Bull Riding Competition, too. "Excuse me, are Angela and Carlisle, and Jessica and Emmett mates as well?"

"Now wait just a fucking minute! Did you just tell my mate that I was her mate?" Jasper asked Peter.

"Yeah, I did. She needed to know Jasper."

"Don't you think that you should have let me tell her? She is my mate, after all."

"She..."

"Excuse me, SHE is right here and her name is Bella!" I yelled to both of them.

"God damn, you're a firecracker!" Peter commented.

"Sorry, darlin', I forgot myself right there."

My arousal pooled in my panties as soon as he drawled his apology to me using his southern lilt. Dear God in heaven...I...I... "You know, I've never noticed you speaking with a southern accent before."

"I'm sorry. It comes out from time to time. I'll make a more concerted effort to hide it."

"Why?" I asked. "If that's how you normally speak, let it all out. Don't hide it. No wonder you've always sounded so stiff. Did that fucking midget force you to squelch your accent? It sounds like something the little twit would do! The bitch always wanted to appear proper and upscale."

"I really like your mate. Did I tell you that?" Peter piped in out of the blue to Jasper.

The DJ made an announcement that Lauren was up next. She climbed onto the bull, clad in a tiny black bikini, and the attendant started it. She looked like she was in complete control and we were all cheering for her.

"Faster!" Lauren yelled to the attendant. He turned up the speed.

"No!" Angela, who now had her attention on Lauren, and I screamed simultaneously.

The next thing we knew Lauren was flying off of the bull and Peter, Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle had all zoomed over there at vampire speed to catch her. The humans were all staring at them in shock.

"That was fun, can I go again?"

Peter had Lauren in his arms and was sniffing her all over her body. He started purring like a cat and licked her right there in public. Lauren, who was over the top in the kinky department, immediately responded and started kissing him. Meanwhile, I stared horrified at the couple, while Angela brought her attention back to Carlisle who was mauling her lips as if they were the greatest elixir on earth.

I, on the other hand, had no idea what to make of any of this shit. I was so creeped out that I made my way to the bar and ordered a double shot of whiskey, straight, and woofed it all down in one go. All of tonight's events, from running into my ex and his twisted family to the seemingly normal ones, like Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett had me completely on edge.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I had no idea that Jasper was right next to me.

"Are you alright there, Bella?" he asked.

"No, no, I'm not okay. This is all too surreal. What the fuck is going on with my friends? They're never this...I don't know...they're acting weird. They're never like this. And what's with Peter licking Lauren like a cat."

"It's the mating. It makes the males overprotective. Pete's protective instincts came out. He's scenting her."

"Scenting her?"

"Yes, he's covering her with his scent so no other males will approach her. He's marking his territory. She was in danger so he became frightened, and now he's taking every protective measure that he knows of."

"Ew!"

"It comes with the territory."

"He said you were my mate."

"I am."

"How come you're not acting all freaky like Peter?"

"You're not in any danger."

"And if I were?"

"I'd probably act like him. I'd kill to protect you."

"James," I said. "In Phoenix."

"That's one example. I had no idea why I was hellbent on killing him back then. I didn't realize that you were my mate. I just knew that he hurt you, and he needed to die."

"Edward nearly drained me."

"And he will die for that." He was firm in his decision, strong, and unmovable. I had no doubt in my mind that Edward Cullen's days on this earth were numbered, and, oddly, rather than being horrified at the prospect, I was completely turned on.

Jasper reached out and stroked my chin between his thumb and his index finger. He was about to move in to kiss me when the DJ announced that Jessica was up next. We bolted towards the mechanical bull. Lauren and Angela flanked my sides as we watched our friend climb onto the bull clad in her tiny bikini which barely covered her abundant breasts. Emmett had his arms folded in front of his chest and he was staring down all of the men in the crowd.

A few seconds later, the attendant started the bull. Jessica started riding the bull like a pro. The guys seemed surprised, but Angela, Lauren, and I weren't surprised at all. Jess had been practicing on a mechanical bull since she was a kid. Her dad had one in the basement. He used to be a rodeo bull rider in Texas and brought a mechanical bull along with him when he moved his family to Forks when Jess was five.

As the bull bucked and turned, Jessica expertly maneuvered herself so that she flowed with the movements using only the lower half of her body. She was in complete control.

"Ride that bull, Jess! Ride it like you wanna ride Emmett!" Lauren screamed.

Jess started grinding her pussy onto the bull, she arched her back, and held onto the back of the bull. She, then, got on her knees and bounced up and down on the bull, her ample breasts jiggling with each rise and fall. Every single guy had his eyes trained on her, and hoots and hollers could be heard throughout the bar.

Jessica sinuously flattened her body onto the bull and started writhing on top of it. She got back up, straightened her back, and ran her fingers through her long locks just as her five minutes were up. The cheers and applause in the establishment were thunderous. The judges posted their scores and Jessica had won by a landslide. She was presented with five hundred bucks in cash, which she gave to me to hold for safekeeping, then jumped up into Emmett's arms. He started doing that weird sniffing and licking thing to her.

I, on the other hand, bolted out of the club, hopped into the limo, and asked to be driven back to the hotel because I'd had enough of this weird shit for the night. I just couldn't handle it anymore. I quickly sent text messages to Angela, Jessica, and Lauren's cell phones letting them know that I was safe and back at the hotel. I took a shower, crawled into my bed, and hit the sack hoping to God that when I woke up in the morning, I'd find out that this was all a bad dream.

**Do you blame Bella for being wary of the four vampires' intentions? Do you blame her for going back to the hotel to think things through? Remember that she sent text messages to all three of her friends telling them where she was going. This part's kind of important so I'm just reiterating the fact that she was being responsible. Did you like Jasper? Do you think Peter did the right thing by informing Bella that Jasper was her mate? On a much lighter note, do you like how Peter and Jasper got their Stetsons? How about Jess on the bull? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I'll write back to ya. XOXO mama4dukes**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm floored by the response to this story. Thank you very much! I truly am having a blast writing this and I can promise you that there are many more adventures to come. **

**Warning: If you are offended by swearing, sex, or inappropriate behavior, it's best that you do not read this story.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Jasper's POV**

I went to congratulate Jess for winning the bull riding contest, then checked on the two assholes that degraded our mates. I sent them more sleepy juice to keep them knocked out. When I came out of the bathroom, I looked around for Bella, but she had disappeared. Where the hell was she? The other three couples were all together, oblivious to the fact that my mate was no longer at the club.

I went outside to check for Bella and noticed that the limo was gone. A few minutes later, the limo pulled up in front of the club just as I was hit with a crushing blow to my chest.

I knocked on the door and asked the driver if he had seen Bella.

"If you mean the beautiful brunette, yes. I drove her back to the hotel."

"I'm sorry, what hotel is she staying at?" I pumped tons of trust into him so he would tell me.

"They're staying at the Hard Rock Hotel. Do you wanna lift?"

"Sure, thanks." Alright, I might have pumped a bit too much trust into him because now he was telling me all about his ex-wife. Huh, this is convenient. We were staying here, too.

He dropped me off and made his way back to Stoney's to wait for the others. Now I had to figure out what room Bella was in.

I walked up to the front desk and sent a boatload of trust and lust into the female clerk. "May I help you, sir?"

"Hi, I have to ask you for a favor. I got a little drunk and I lost my wallet. It had my key card in it. I don't remember what room I was in. Do you think you can help me out, darlin'?" I winked at her and I smelt her arousal instantly.

"Of course," she breathed. "Um, what's your name?"

I remembered them saying that Lauren was the one who won the contest. Hmm...I don't look like a Lauren, oh I know what I'll do, "The last name is Mallory, M-A-L-L-O-R-Y. First name is Laurent, L-A-U-R-E-N-T."

"Oh, here it is. Oh my God. Whoever checked you in had you down as Lauren Mallory—one letter off." She started fiddling with the machine to program room keys. "You're in the Platinum Penthouse in the Paradise Tower. Enjoy your stay. Oh, and my number is in there. Call me."

"Much obliged, darlin'. I'll keep your number safe," I drawled, throwing some more lust at her, and patted my hand over my heart.

I might have overdid it because she clutched onto the computer keyboard, and moaned as she shuddered to an orgasm and shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Give it to me Laurent!" When I turned back around, she had beads of sweat running down her neck. Actually, so did most of the people in the lobby. Oops. My bad.

I made my way to the Platinum Penthouse and knocked on the door. I could hear Bella's heartbeat so I used the key to open the door and made my way inside. I scented Bella out to her room easily. She was sleeping soundly in a tank top and her panties, she had shed the blanket, and her tank top had risen up exposing part of her breasts.

I took my boots off and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Bella," I murmured quietly.

Her eyes sprung open. She bolted up into a sitting position and turned to me. "What the hell, Jasper? I was sleeping! How the hell did you get in here?"

"I have my ways."

"Of course, you're a vampire. We can't run or hide from you. Why are you here?"

"I became worried. You left the club without saying anything to anyone."

"I may not have said anything to anyone, but I did text each of my three friends, telling them where I was. I'm not that irresponsible, Jasper."

"Why did you leave?"

"I was stressed and I needed to take some time out to process some things. I went to bed hoping that when I woke up you guys would all be gone, but I guess that was wishful thinking, huh?"

"You can't run from me, Bella. You're my mate."

"And that doesn't make you my keeper. Only Bella Swan is my keeper. The last time I checked, that was me. Oh, and you're trespassing in my personal space. I don't deal well with stalkers."

I was becoming increasingly frustrated at Bella's stubbornness. My protective instincts were already on overdrive because I freaked out when she disappeared.

I pulled Bella into my arms and started scenting her. Her reaction was not the one I was expecting. She started thrashing and screaming. "Stop! Please stop! Let go of me!"

I let go immediately. Bella bolted off of the bed, scurried into a corner, and started shaking. She had her knees up, and her arms wrapped around them and she was crying.

"Bella, I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't think...I...I'm so sorry."

I tuned into her emotions and she was emitting feelings of fear, doubt, anxiety and, above all, worthlessness. It was the same set of emotions that Charlotte emitted after she was raped by Benito while she was still serving in Maria's army. Oh no. Oh God. No!

I approached Bella slowly, crawling to her on my knees. I stopped just short of her and called her name quietly. "Bella."

She kept sobbing into her arms.

"Bella."

When I didn't receive an answer, I tried the direct approach, "Bella, when were you attacked?"

She calmed her sobs a couple of minutes later. "Two years ago. I was dating a guy when he threw himself on top of me and tried to rape me. I was able to get away, but not before he beat me."

Internally, I was a raging storm, but I had to stay calm for my mate. It wouldn't do any good for me to lose it right here and now. It was clear that I brought forth some painful memories to surface when I abruptly tried to scent her. On top of that, she had just woken up to find that I had invaded her room. I'm such a fucking asshole.

"I'm sorry that...Christ...Bella, I'm a shit...I really am. I had no right being in your room and forcing myself on you. When I tried to scent you, it was that protective instinct in me that took over. I wasn't trying to hurt you, but I still have no excuse for what I did. I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry. I'll just leave you in peace now."

I stood up and made my way to the door at human speed.

"Jasper, don't go," she whispered. "Please don't leave me."

I slowly walked back to Bella and sat cross legged in front of her, on the floor. Bella looked at me resolutely, then slowly sidled to my side. She lifted up her tiny hand, the one with the scar, and ran one finger down my cheek. She gasped a bit, then continued tracing my face with her finger.

I took a chance and wrapped one arm around her. She rested her head on my chest.

"I'm fucked up, Jasper."

"No, you're not. You're just a little broken, but broken things can be fixed."

"You don't understand. I can't be with you, even if I feel a connection to you. I'm not good. I'll just fuck up your life."

"You'll fuck up my life if you're not with me, Bella. I need you. You need me. We're made for each other."

"How do you know, Jasper?"

How do I explain to her that that's just how mating works? I couldn't. She wouldn't be able to wrap her mind around it until she, herself, became a vampire. Then, her animalistic side would come to fruition and she would feel the mating instinct.

I decided to try a different approach. I started to unbutton my shirt. "Turn the light on Bella. I want to show you something."

She stood up and switched on the room light. By the time she turned around, I had my shirt off and I was standing directly underneath the light.

"Come here," I prompted. "I want you to see this."

She walked over to me with trepidation and faced me. She gasped as she took in the scars covering my arms and my chest. Bella turned her wrist over and compared her one scar to my many.

"Who did this to you?" she asked, as she ran her soft fingers over my scars painstakingly, as if they were made of fine crystal.

"Let's sit down and I'll tell you a story. My story."

So we sat down on her bed, with our backs against the headboard, and I told her. I told her everything about my past starting with loving my mama's peach pies, to going off to serve in the Confederate Army in the War of Northern Aggression, to being abruptly changed by Maria and being forced to serve in her army, to meeting Alice and living a human facade for over sixty years.

"So, don't tell me that you're too fucked up to be with me, Bella, because, as you can see, I'm a hundred times more fucked up than you are."

"You're not fucked up, Jasper. You were just forced into situations in which you had no control over. You were manipulated by both Maria and Alice, and you were able to rise above everything and become the man you are today."

Now, how come she can't see that she, herself, has done the same thing?

"That's the thing, Bella. You're the same way. Sure you haven't gone through the same sort of shit I have, but the crap you had to contend with was just as malicious. I think you and I were thrown together because we've both suffered and we've both gone through some fucked up shit in our lives. Maybe, just maybe, we're supposed to get through life together. So, what do you say. Will you give you and me a chance?"

She sat and contemplated what I had said for the longest time. About twenty minutes later, she finally answered my question and whispered, "I guess I don't really have anything to lose. So, yes, I'll give us a chance."

My lips descended upon hers. This time she kissed me back, and oh, how sweet those kisses were. Her kisses were like honey, wet and sweet, and so, so soft. I explored her mouth with my tongue and elicited a moan from her. Soon, we were lying down and kissing while her soft hands roamed my chest in earnest.

We broke apart so she could get some air a few minutes later. "Edward always said that it was too dangerous and not allowed."

"What?" I asked.

"French kissing."

"Uh, yeah. He was right. You're not allowed to French kiss Edward," I stated, seriously.

We both started chuckling after she realized the joke I had made. I attached my lips to hers once again and traced my fingers down her body. I knew it was too soon for her to have sex. I wouldn't force anything on my mate. I was just content holding her, and kissing her. She soon fell asleep in my arms in exhaustion. I sent her an extra dose of lethargy so she'd sleep peacefully. I left her for a minute, ran to my room, and grabbed my pajama pants and a change of clothes for tomorrow. I quickly returned to her room, threw on my pajama pants, and went back to holding her. I relished in the electricity and the feeling of contentment churning through my veins.

A few minutes later, I reached over and grabbed a book off of her nightstand. She was reading some weird historical romance novel called, 'The Naked Duke.' Seeing that there was nothing else to read, I started reading the novel. I found myself actually enjoying it and laughing out loud at some of the scenes. I mean, in the beginning of the novel, the heroine actually finds herself waking up form her peaceful slumber with a naked man lying next to her in bed. Though I wasn't naked, Bella must have freaked out when she found me in her bedroom a few hours ago when all she was doing was sleeping. What the hell was I thinking?

I finished the novel in a couple of hours, put it down, and snuggled up next to Bella. I wished to God that I could sleep next to her. I closed my eyes and got lost in the feeling of peace she was emitting, and soon I found myself resting for the first time in my existence as a vampire in a feeling that was as close to slumber that I would get.

At around eight am, Bella stirred awake.

"Good morning," I said.

"Morning," she mumbled and bolted into the bathroom. I heard her using the toilet and brushing her teeth.

She came out a few minutes later and snuggled back into my arms.

"Better?" I asked.

"Yeah, I didn't want to assault you with my morning breath." She turned around and took in my countenance. "You seem really...refreshed."

"Yeah, I kind of immersed myself in your emotions while you were sleeping and I was actually able to rest. I wasn't able to fall asleep, but I was definitely able to shut out the world and take something close to a long nap. I didn't think it was possible."

"Well, you learn something new everyday. Hey, did my roommates come back?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you Bella. I wasn't paying attention. I actually knocked myself out so I don't know. I only hear your heartbeat in the suite so I don't think so."

My cell phone buzzed with a text from Pete.

**From: P Whitlock**

**To: J Whitlock**

**Got back around five am. Girls are tuckered out in our room. They're safe. Tell Kitten, no bloodshed, but I did eat Lauren. Hehe. See you at one pm in lobby. Wear swim trunks. Overcast, but no rain all day. Going to REHAB Pool Party. **

Rather than reading it to her, I showed Bella the text.

"He ate Lauren?"

"Um, not her blood, her..."

"Ohhh...I get it. No need to elaborate. Lauren enjoys being feasted on."

"I remember her as being pretty advanced, even during high school."

"Yeah, she's always been a go get 'em type of girl."

"I can see that."

"Speaking of seeing, Peter's not a seer like Alice, is he?"

"He'll be pissed off if he ever heard you saying that. He hates Alice with a passion. No, he's nothing like the witch. Alice gets visions, they're subjective, and can be blocked. Peter, on the other hand, sees the end result, and, therefore, what he sees is definitive. He also is in tune with his intuitions. For example, this weekend, he had a feeling that we needed to be in Las Vegas, but he had no idea why until we came across the four of you and shook Lauren's hand."

"So, it's overcast today. What do you want to do?" she asked.

"How about I kiss you some more, get you fed, then, afterwards, we go shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, I need a pair of swim trunks. I didn't bring any. Maybe you can help me pick out a pair."

"Sounds like a plan. Hey, do you want to take a dip in the hot tub?"

"I told you, I don't have my swim trunks."

"I won't look, if you don't look."

Well, hot damn. I wasn't expecting a naked dip in the hot tub with my mate, but I'll take it.

"Let's do it," I said.

She got up off of the bed, grabbed my hand, and led me into the living room. She turned on the faucet to the hot tub. While it was filling up, the two of us took a tour of the penthouse. There were four bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom, a dining room, a bar, an en-suite movie theatre, a pool table, and a humongous hot tub in the middle of the living room.

"Isn't this nice?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"We couldn't believe it when we first saw the place. We'd never seen anything so fancy. It was like a dream come true."

I could buy her a hundred of these places if that's what her heart desired. And from this point on, she would get whatever her heart desired, whether it took money or hard work, because I would take care of her, willingly and without any hesitation.

"Okay, turn around Jasper. Um, stare at that wall over there." I did as she asked. I could hear her getting out of her clothes and slipping into the tub. "Done. Your turn, I'll keep my eyes covered."

She was so cute. She was sitting in the tub with her hands covering her face, and she even had her head turned away. I didn't have the heart to tell her that with my vampire vision, I had a perfect view of her gorgeous body even when it was immersed in the steaming water. I quickly took my pajama pants off and stepped into the tub. I sat across from her. Why? Because I'm a guy, and a horny one at that, and I preferred the view from this side.

We sat and talked about life in general. I got to know a little more about her friends and why the four of them were so close. Man, Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley, and Ben Cheney were total dicks. She told me about Angela's abusive father and the reason why she was estranged from her father. Bella also told me about her own father, and how they grew closer once Edward took a hike.

I asked Bella where she learned to throw a punch. She told me that her father signed her and her friends up for karate lessons after her attempted rape. That also explained Bella's toned body. Three times a week of karate will get anyone in shape. In fact, come to think of it, all four of those girls were in top shape.

Bella also told me about how Jessica's father used to be a rodeo bull cowboy in Texas before he moved his family over to Forks to work in the logging industry. Apparently, Jessica's dad has a mechanical bull in his basement where Jess would take rides since she was knee high. That's why she had perfect form and balance on that bull last night.

I told Bella about what Carlisle, Em, Pete, and I have been doing for the past four years. After settling the divorces, Carlisle decided that he wanted to take a break from medicine and travel. The four of us have been traveling to each of our homes and renovating them by ourselves. Carlisle, Em, and I were all pretty handy with carpentry thanks to Esme, probably only one of the few good things that came out of that woman. Pete had always been good with tools, too. He and Charlotte had built the home that they shared in Montana with their own bare hands. He gave that house to her when they broke up and purchased the one in Fredonia.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome. How many homes have you renovated in all?"

"We're not even close to done yet, but so far we're at twelve."

"Twelve houses and you're not done yet?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to renovate the house in Forks or keep it that way?"

"Actually, we just came from there. We sorted through our belongings and brought everything that we wanted to hold onto back to Arizona. We donated everything else to the local community outreach program there. With Alice, Rose, Esme, and Edward's clothes, some of the needy in Forks are going to be dressed pretty spiffily."

"That's a great thing, though. The economy is terrible around there, and there are a lot of lower income people that could use help in Forks. Maybe the nice clothes will lift their spirits. After you guys left, I took all of those horrific outfits that Alice had purchased for me and donated everything, too. When all was said and done, I was left with a pair of jeans and three shirts. Alice had thrown away all of my clothes because she thought they were too white trash. She even threw out my favorite sweatshirt that my mom got me when we went to Santa Catalina Island on vacation. Anyway, my father had to take me shopping on his day off and buy me a whole new wardrobe. He grumbled about Alice for months after that because he had to miss a fishing trip to do 'female stuff' in Seattle. Then, when he got his credit card statement, he bitched about her even more."

I laughed like hell hearing that. It was unfortunate that she had to replace her wardrobe because of my selfish ex, but it was hilarious how, even while he grumbled, Chief Swan cared enough about his daughter to replenish her wardrobe for her.

"You know, after Alice and I split up, I had to purchase a whole new wardrobe, too. Save for a pair of sneakers, I didn't like one thing in my closet. In fact, Carlisle and Emmett did the same thing. I don't know if you noticed, but Carlisle looks and dresses his age now."

"I did notice. He looks kind of hot. Well, Carlisle's always been hot, but now he looks younger and hipper, too. He doesn't seem so uptight anymore, either."

"If you were married to Esme, you'd be uptight."

"I guess so. He must have been shocked when he found out that she and Rose were together."

"Are you kidding? We were all shocked, but you're right, Carlisle was the most shocked. Emmett was actually the one that took it in stride. He was so happy when he found out that Rose was leaving him that he whooped and hollered like a kid in a candy store."

"I think I would have done the same thing," Bella giggled. "So, you never told me what you're going to do with the house in Forks."

"Oh, well, that was Esme's masterpiece so Carlisle is having it torn down. Actually, it's probably already been done, the demolition contractors were due there yesterday. We're headed there next to work on building a new house."

"Cool beans." She turned to me next with a serious expression on her face. "Whatever happened to Maria?"

"Ten years ago, Peter and I went down to Texas to assassinate her. She was holed up in her private villa and she had no idea that we were coming. She had no newborns left, and by then, Maria had captured all of the territories so there were no opposing armies for her to fight. After that, the two of us systematically went and killed all of her guard members. It was easy, really. I just knocked them all out, and Pete ripped their heads off and burned them."

"Gee whiz. I can't say that the tyrant didn't have it coming, though."

"You know, we both felt free for the first time in our existence as vampires then."

"I'll bet you did. Hey, what hotel are you staying at anyway?"

"This one. We're in a different tower, though. We're staying in the Altered States Penthouse in the All-Suite Tower. It's pretty cool there, we have a pool on the rooftop terrace."

"Ooh, can I see your room later?"

"Of course you can, you don't even have to ask. Now, are you hungry? We can go eat."

"I am famished. You don't have to come with me. I know that you don't eat."

"I'm coming with you, babe. I like spending time with you."

"Okay, um, cover your eyes so I can get out." I shielded my eyes and she darted into the bathroom. "Feel free to use one of the other showers!" she shouted.

What I wanted to do was jump into her shower with her, soap her body down, then make love to her, but, clearly, she wasn't ready. I hopped into Angela's shower, washed my hair, and soaped my body down. I was already aroused from sitting across from my mate and taking in the sight of my mate so I ended up having to relieve myself the way I've been doing it for the last four years. This time it was easy, though, because all I had to do was think about my Bella.

I sprinted across the hall to my mate's room clad only in a towel to grab my clothes. I didn't notice that Bella was done with her shower. She shrieked when she saw me and dropped her towel. I was so surprised that I did the same thing. We stood there naked, staring at each other for a few seconds, then the next thing I knew, Bella had made her way to me and started kissing me. Now, I wasn't about to miss that opportunity so I deepened the kiss, picked her up, and carried her to the bed.

We were making out in earnest now. Our hands were roaming each other's bodies, and feeling every inch of skin we could get our hands on. I took in the scent of that beautiful artery of hers pulsating in her neck. I sucked on it gently. She moaned at the sensation. Oh, oh. Maybe I wasn't so gentle, that's definitely gonna leave a mark. That's a whopper of a hickey. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Bella started kissing every single scar on my body, and I had to admit that it felt nice to be cared for like that. With each kiss she gave me, I felt as if she were taking away the pain of receiving the scar. After she kissed the last scar, she trailed kisses up my chest until she reached my lips. I eagerly took in the sweet sugar that she was giving me, and relished in the feeling of her body on top of mine.

At eleven am, Bella and I finally got dressed and moseyed on out of the hotel. True to Peter's word, it was completely overcast out. We took Carlisle's SUV to the Forum Shops. We stopped in a restaurant so Bella could grab a bite to eat. She wanted to have sushi so we sat at the counter and ordered whatever she wanted. It actually worked out great because they served two pieces at a time and Bella just ate whatever was put in front of me while the sushi chef was busy making more sushi.

After she finished eating, we went to look for a pair of swim trunks for me. We found a pair at Abercrombie and Fitch. Bella suggested that I purchase a pair of flip flops so I don't look like an idiot walking in there with cowboy boots, which were the only pair of shoes that I brought. While I was there, I had Bella pick out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for me, too. When I came out of the fitting room, I saw her looking longingly at a hooded sweatshirt, then put it down, shuddering upon seeing the price tag. I threw it in with my purchase while she wasn't looking. I planned on sneaking it into her luggage later.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was already twelve thirty. The two of us quickly got into our swimsuits, threw on our flip flops, and made our way to the lobby where the others were waiting.

Bella and I started laughing at the sight of Carlisle and Peter. Emmett, at least, was wearing sneakers with his swim trunks, but Carlisle was wearing dress shoes and Peter was wearing cowboy boots. Angela, Jess, and Lauren looked like shit. The three of them were all groaning about being hungover. I wasn't surprised. They were drunker than Bella to begin with and they partied for seven whole hours after she left.

"Bella, how come you look so perky?"

"Cause I went to bed early like a good, little girl."

"I hate you, Bella."

"I love you, Lauren."

"I love you, too," she chuckled.

"You have a hickey on your neck," Emmett pointed out to Bella.

I wagged my eyebrows at him and smiled. That's right fuckers, I may not have been able to bite her, but I did mark her as mine the human way.

"The challenge isn't over yet, Jasper. I can smell her, she's still innocent," Peter whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders. I truly didn't give a shit about the challenge anymore. I was just over the moon about the progress I'd made with Bella.

Lauren grabbed Bella by the arm and walked with her.

"So, did you lose your V-card last night?" she whispered in her ear.

"No."

"Are you still part of the challenge?"

"I never back out of a challenge," Bella stated.

"We'll see, Miss Virgin Isabella," Lauren chuckled.

We walked into the decadent pool party. Peter had rented out a cabana for us so we could have some privacy. Lauren, Jess, and Angela were soon tuckered out on the loungers and napping, trying to recover from their long night of partying.

"So, when are you going to tell them that you're vampires?" Bella asked quietly.

She brought up an excellent point. I, for one, was happy that I didn't have that shit to contend with.

"We haven't exactly thought about it yet," Emmett stated. "We're kind of just going with the flow."

"You're going to have to tell them at some point. You're cold, you don't eat, and they're going to wonder why you never go out in the sun."

"We'll tell them. We just have to figure out how and when. Most people aren't as perceptive as you are, Bella," Carlisle pointed out. We can suck it up and digest human food if we have to anyhow.

"You can?"

"Yes, we just have to bring it back up later."

I didn't like the evil smile that crossed Bella's face. No, sir, I did not.

"Carlisle, how old did you tell Angela that you were?"

"Thirty-three."

"And she believed you?"

"Like I said, most humans aren't as perceptive as you are."

"How old were you when you were changed, Peter?"

"Twenty-seven."

"That's a good, round age. Not too young, not too old. Have you ever been married before?"

"When I was human, I was married. I had a companion when I was a vampire. Her name is Charlotte. You'll meet her eventually. You kind of remind me of her."

"I do? How?"

"You both have good heads on your shoulders and dirty, dirty mouths that need to be washed out with soap."

"Oh. So, what's up on your agenda after Las Vegas? We have our last year of school starting in about a week."

"We haven't decided yet. We were going to work on rebuilding the house in Forks, but now that we have mates, we'll have to re-do the design and make it larger," Carlisle said.

"Why is that?"

"Bella, a vampire cannot exist without his mate. We need to be close to them. If our mates die, we die, and vice versa."

Bella's eyes widened. "Wait...but...wait, are you planning on changing them?"

"It kind of goes with the territory."

"Um, but...um...I...oh...my...fuck!"

"Bella, what did you think was going to happen? Did you think we were going to let you all remain human?" I asked.

She bolted away from me and stared at all of us with gaping eyes. She grabbed a beach towel and wrapped it around her neck a few times as if it would protect her.

"Kitten, we're not going to change you now," Peter said.

"And what if we don't want to be changed? What if we want to hold on to our humanity."

"I'm afraid that isn't a choice."

"Edward said..."

"Edward is a lying sack of shit, Bella! He spouted that bullshit to you about wanting you to remain human because you weren't his mate and he knew it!" Carlisle growled angrily. "A real vampire would change his mate immediately because as vampires that's what we do. We find our mates and stake our claim."

"You don't have to yell. Besides, Carlisle, you're the one that fed Edward all of that bullshit about humanity."

"Yeah, I know, and I was completely disenchanted because I wasn't proud and didn't accept the fact that I was a vampire, but no more."

"I think I like the new Carlisle better. You look fucked up in your dress shoes and swim trunks, though. At least take the fucking shoes off."

Bella stayed over by the corner with the towel wrapped around her neck. I missed her proximity and wanted to pull her close to me.

"Bella, we'll discuss it. The eight of us, together," Emmett said. "I don't know how Jasper intends to deal with your change, but I'm not giving Jessica a choice. I need her Bella."

"It's funny, there was a time when all I wanted was to be a vampire, but since you guys left, I appreciate things like the sun, eating, sleeping, and breathing. I'm not so sure that it's something that I can throw away so easily," she sighed. "Listen, I need to go and think alone for a little bit. I'm going to go back to my room for a bit, okay? I'll be back, I promise."

Bella walked out of the cabana with her towel still wrapped tightly around her neck. I felt the loss instantly, and the further she walked away from me, the more the pain in my chest increased.

"Don't worry, she'll be back and she'll agree to be changed, too," Carlisle smirked.

"How do you know that Carlisle? She made some valid points about wanting to stay human," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I got to know Bella pretty well from a doctor's standpoint. If there's one thing that Bella Swan can't abide by, it's excessive physical pain. She'll be running back to you and begging to be changed as soon as the chest pain from the mating pull becomes crushing. Now that she's accepted the fact that you're mates, it'll hit her. I've heard that the initial pain of separation can be crushing."

"Yeah, I felt it last night. I thought that a concrete building was being lowered onto my chest."

Sure enough, a half an hour later, Bella came running into the cabana, clutching her chest. "Carlisle, Carlisle, I think I'm having a heart attack. I'm not even twenty-two until next week. I'm pretty sure heart disease doesn't run in my family."

"Do you have chest pain?"

"Yes."

"Does your pain radiate to the left side of your body, down your arms?"

"No."

"Do you feel pain spreading to your neck, jaw, or upper back?"

"No."

"What about breathing difficulties or a choking sensation in your throat?"

Bella took a few deep breaths before answering, "No."

"Any nausea?"

"No."

"Go sit on Jasper's lap."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Fine." Bella came to sit on my lap. I relished in the feeling of her sweet body touching mine and breathed in her beautiful scent.

"How do you feel now?"

"It's gone. What the hell? Was it just an angina attack?"

"It's the mating pull. Now that you've accepted the fact that Jasper is your mate, you'll feel this pain whenever you're separated from him."

"Are you fucking with me? Are you telling me that I'll feel this pain whenever he's away from me?"

"Yes."

"Well that sucks the big one. How long is this going to go on for?"

"Having never been mated before myself, I have no idea. What I've heard is that the pain in the initial stage is the most crushing. After that, I heard that the pain becomes dulled after the initial claiming is completed."

"Are you telling me that I'll feel mind numbing pain whenever Jasper's away from me?"

Carlisle shrugged his shoulders. "Until you're claimed, yes."

Bella stood up with a ferocious scowl on her hips and faced me. "Emmett, come here!" she ordered.

He was by her side in a flash. Bella took his hand and slapped me across the face with it. "How dare you mate on me, you fucking bastard! I hate pain! I abhor it!"

"Bella, I didn't have a choice, it was fate. And ow, that shit hurt!"

Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter all had amused grins on their faces. Bella took Emmett's hand and whacked both Carlisle's and Peter's faces with it, then took Peter's hand to whack Emmett's face.

"Serves you right, you motherfucker! I hate fate! Fate sucks!"

"Yeah, well fate threw me to you, so just deal with it."

"Obviously I'm gonna have to, aren't I? I want to finish my senior year off at the University of Washington. That means that you're going to make it happen so that you're attending classes with me and you're gonna have to work at Barnes and Noble with me."

"Work? Me?"

"Yes, work. You."

"It's either that or no dice on the change. I'm not going to put up with this pain. I hate pain more than fate!"

"Bella, I have enough money to support the two of us, you don't have to work. You can quit your job, I can..."

"Nope, I happen to enjoy my part time job. A little humility will do you some good anyway."

"Yeah, Jasper," that asshole Peter agreed with her with a chuckle. "Some humility will do you good."

"Nothing wrong with hard work," Emmett agreed.

Carlisle just laughed.

"But Bella..."

"Jasper..."

"There is no way in hell I'm going to work. I'm a fucking billionaire for God's sake. I put in my time before you were even born!" Then, I thought of something. If I had to work, so did Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter. "Bella, do your friends work?"

"Yeah, they do. Angela works at Target, Jessica works at McDonald's, and Lauren is a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory."

Carlisle, Emmett, and Peter groaned in horror. I just smirked at the three assholes. I looked over at my mate and she wagged her eyebrows at the three of them.

Jessica stirred awake just then. "Bella, what the fuck are you yammering on about? I swear to God, I'm hungover and I'm trying to get some rest here."

"Jess, it's fucking two in the afternoon."

"And I'm on fucking vacation. And, Christ, what the fuck are they doing here?"

"Who?" Bella asked.

Jess pointed to four guys standing in line to purchase drinks. Shit, it was Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley, Eric Yorkie, and Ben Cheney.

"Oh, blech!" Jess and Bella both spurted.

"Wake the fuck up! Both of you!" Jess commanded.

"What the fuck?" Lauren shouted as she tumbled from the lounger.

Peter freaked out and picked her up.

"Thanks, Peter," she gushed.

Bella rolled her eyes.

Why the fuck can't my mate be all sweet and loving like Pete's mate?

Angela rubbed her eyes as she woke up. "What's the commotion about?" she asked.

"Take a look over by the bar."

"Oh my God! What is this, run into your fucked up ex from high school weekend? First you run into Fuckward and now we have to see our three, plus the definition of desperate geek, Eric Yorkie?"

"Which one is your ex-boyfriend?" Peter growled.

"That would be Tyler Crowley. The fucker was seeing a slutty cheerleader behind my back. He knocked her up too."

"I'll kill him."

"Pete, you can't kill him in public," Bella whispered for only the vampires to hear. "Get a fucking grip on yourself."

"Who did you date?" Emmett asked Jessica.

"Mike Newton. You knew that. I was dating him when you guys left Forks."

The four shitholes purchased beers and started heading in our direction. One of them, Eric, noticed our girls. With our vampire hearing, we could hear what they were saying loud and clear.

"_Holy shit. Guys, you'll never guess who's here?"_ Eric said.

"_Who?" _Ben asked.

"_Um, only your ex-girlfriends from Forks High."_

He pointed towards our cabana.

"_Shit, they're still looking hot,"_ Tyler said. _"Check out Bella Swan in that red bikini. I've got to have me a piece of her ass. Hell, I'll take her and Lauren at the same time."_

"_Guys, they have one of those cabanas. It's worth a fuck with Jess just to hang out in one of those."_

"_Listen, I'm not so sure that I want to see Angela. She turned out to be much different from what I expected. Her parents even agree with me that she's not girlfriend material."_

"_Who said anything about making them our girlfriends?" _Mike commented. _ "All we have to do is fuck them and they'll be eating out of the palms of our hands."_

Carlisle, Emmett, Peter, and I were about ready to go out there and rip some heads off.

The assholes approached our cabana. Their jaws dropped when they saw the four of us. I think that we might have dashed all of their hopes. Good.

"Hey, wow! Long time no see!" Mike said.

"Hello, Mike."

"So, are you here with the Cullens?"

"Yeah," Angela smiled.

"I'm just surprised. Didn't you guys move to California?"

"For a little while," I said.

"So, are you guys together?" Tyler asked.

"Yes, we are Tyler."

"Gee, Bella. I didn't take you for someone that would go from one brother to another."

"Well, you know. Things change. We'll be right back," Bella said through gritted teeth. She motioned for Angela, Jess, and Lauren to follow her.

"Hey, so, wow. What happened to Alice, Rose, and Mrs. Cullen?" Eric asked.

"We split up with them. What do you think happened?"

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have Rose's number would you?"

"Nope," Emmett said.

"Jasper, she's your twin. Do you have it?"

"I do, but I ain't giving it to you. She's married. I doubt her husband would appreciate a call from a strange guy."

"I suppose you're right."

I was watching the girls from a distance. Bella snagged a half drunk pitcher of beer off of someone's abandoned table. Meanwhile, Jessica charmed the bartender into giving her four clean plastic cups. The girls then roamed around the pool area and started pouring partially empty cups of beer into the pitcher. When it was finally filled, Lauren stole a tray from the bar. The girls placed the pitcher and the cups on the tray and Lauren carried it over her shoulder back to the cabana like a professional waitress.

"Guys, we want to just let bygones be bygones. We bought you a pitcher of beer."

"Thanks," they said appreciatively.

They each took a glass and Lauren expertly poured the backwash beer into their cups. The four guys took a swig of the beer while the girls smiled innocently at them.

"It's a little warm, isn't it?" Ben commented.

"Yeah, things heat up so quickly in Las Vegas. I'm telling you." Jess shook her head in disbelief.

The guys finished off the pitcher in no-time. Mike, then asked, "Hey, you guys don't mind if we hang out with you in your cabana, do you? It'd be great to catch up."

Pete stepped in, then. "Actually we do mind. We're here with our girlfriends, and we'd kind of like to be alone with them. You understand, don't you?"

The four assholes were stunned at his answer. What did they expect? For us to welcome them with open arms.

"Of course we understand. Uh, we'll just be going, then. Thanks for the beer girls," Ben said.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth," Bella said.

"I can't believe you girls served them backwash beer. Classic!" Emmett said.

The eight of us partied in the pool for a few hours. We danced, splashed around, laughed, and just had a ton of fun together. Around five pm, we decided to head back to our rooms.

"We should get some dinner," Angela suggested.

"Oh, yes, we definitely should. Absolutely should," Bella said a little too eagerly.

"You do eat, don't you?" Jess asked. "It's just that I noticed you guys never ate at school during lunch."

"Oh, yeah, we eat," Emmett said. "It's just that the school lunches tasted like crap."

"Why don't we take you girls out to dinner?" Carlisle offered.

"We'd love that! What do you guys like to eat?" Lauren gushed.

"Um..."

We all turned to Bella for help. She grinned maliciously. "We should do something exotic. You know something with a lot of aroma and flavor that'll awaken our taste buds."

"Ooh! Like Thai food!" Jess squealed.

"Or Indian," Angela added.

"I'm kind of in the mood for a good steak," Peter said quickly. As long as we ordered a blue steak, we could at least take in some blood."

"Oh, I looove a good steak," Lauren gushed.

"Well, then, steak it is," I decided quickly because if we ordered a blue steak, we could actually digest the bloody portion of it, especially if we chewed it well.

"Um, I'm not so sure taking Bella to a steakhouse is a good idea. Remember the last time?" Angela whispered into Lauren's ear.

"Bella, you're not going to cause any problems at the steakhouse, are you?"

"As long as they cook my steak right, we won't have any problems." She smiled at her friends.

Angela, Jess, and Lauren all donned looks of horror on their faces.

What problems? Does my mate turn psycho in steakhouses or something? How come Angela, Jess, and Lauren all look so scared?

****Why do Angela, Jess, and Lauren look scared? Hmm...I wonder what happens to Bella at steakhouses. So, tons happened this chapter. I'd love to hear what you thought-especially where Jasper and Bella are concerned. I promise to write back to you. Sending you tons of smiles.****

********XOXO mama4dukes****


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your reviews, messages, faves, and alerts. Without further ado, I present to you, Bella and the steakhouse. *Runs and hides* mama4dukes is frightened of Bella.**

**Warning: If you are offended by swearing, sex, or inappropriate behavior, it's best that you do not read this story. **

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Lauren's POV**

I can't believe what's happened to me and my girls. We ran into Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper, and his brother, Peter. Each of us were caught in a whirlwind romance that we didn't want to end. Bella was the worst out of all of us. As soon as we split up to go shower, she started sobbing as if it was actually painful for her to be away from Jasper. Apparently, he felt the same way because ten minutes later, he was knocking on our suite with his suitcase in hand. She always had a tendency to fall hard and fast for guys, but this time, I couldn't say a thing because I was already head over heels in love with Peter.

Two hours later, we were all showered and ready to go. We were all dressed to the nines in heels and sexy dresses. Our guys looked so suave in their designer suits. Peter and Jasper were both wearing cowboy boots and stetsons with their suits. Carlisle had made a reservation at Del Frisco's Steakhouse. We took our limo there and placed our drink orders immediately. The men ordered Jack Daniels while the girls and I shared a bottle of Merlot.

"What can I get for you today, ma'am?" the waiter asked.

"I'll take a shrimp cocktail for appetizer and an eight-ounce filet mignon."

"How would you like that cooked?"

"Medium, please," I said.

He turned to Angela next.

"I'll have crab cakes and a prime strip steak."

"How would you like that cooked?"

"Medium, please."

"I'll have the exact same thing," Jess ordered next, to save the waiter some trouble.

"And you ma'am?" he turned to Bella.

"I'll have oysters on the half shell along with a blue cheese wedge. You girls will share with me, right?"

I nodded my head that I would.

"And for your main course?" the waiter asked.

"I'll take an eight-ounce filet mignon cooked medium rare. Now, you do understand that medium rare means a warm red center, don't you? I want it cooked to a hundred thirty degrees even if the USDA recommends that it be cooked to a hundred forty-five degrees. In my opinion, that makes a steak medium instead of medium rare. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Cause you didn't write it down. It makes me feel as if you don't really care about how I want my order cooked."

Oh shit. Not again.

"Ma'am, our chefs are well versed in the internal temperatures of steaks. I'm sure that you'll be satisfied with your meal."

"We'll see. The real test is after you bring it out, isn't it?"

This was so embarrassing. Our four guys were watching Bella with stunned expressions on their faces.

"Yes, ma'am."

The waiter then turned to the guys, they all ordered the same thing. Steak tartare for appetizer and blue steaks—just different cuts of it.

After we were through with the appetizer, the waiter brought our steaks out.

"Oh my God! This is so good," Jess squealed.

"Yes, it's delicious."

Bella cut into her steak and had a scowl on her face. Oh God. Oh no. Not again.

She flagged the waiter down. "Sir, didn't I tell you that I wanted this steak medium rare?"

"That is medium rare, ma'am."

"This is not medium rare. A medium rare steak has a warm red center. The center of this steak is pink. Pink. Look at it. You tell me that it's not pink."

"That is pink," Peter agreed, looking at it. Oh, don't encourage her.

"Ma'am, I'll take the steak back and the chef will cook you another one.

Three steaks later and Bella was now feral. Both the manager and the chef were at our table. "Do you see this steak? It's cooked to medium well, not medium rare. I asked for my steak to be cooked to an internal temperature of 130. This steak was cooked to about 145, then left to cook some more under a heat lamp—hence, the pink, almost white center. Let me explain the dynamics of steak to you. After you take it off of the flame, the steak continues to increase in temperature by five to ten degrees while it's resting. Now, if it rests under a scorching heat lamp, the internal temperature will increase by more, thereby making it a medium to medium well steak. Or did they not teach you that in cooking school?"

The chef who had clearly had enough of Bella, lost it, then. "Lady, if you're so perfect at grilling steaks, you go into the kitchen and cook it yourself."

"If you'd like to be rude about it, and since you clearly have no idea how to cook, I will."

"Ma'am, you can't just..." the manager called after Bella, but she was already storming into the kitchen with the chef. He went chasing after the two of them. "It's against the law..."

"Is she always like this?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, that's why we don't take her to steakhouses often. At the last one we went to, she made the chef cry and he quit his job because she had shattered his self confidence," Jess explained.

Emmett started laughing. Apparently, he thought it was funny.

Fifteen minutes later, the chef and Bella came walking out with three steaks. She was wearing a chef's jacket and a hat. She made the manager and the chef pull up chairs and sit down. Sure enough, when they cut into the steaks there was a warm red center. They all took a bite out of their steaks and Bella was finally happy. Of course, the rest of us were all done with our meals and were onto our desserts by now.

"See, now isn't that better?" Bella asked.

"Yes, ma'am, you were absolutely correct," the manager conceded.

"Hey, are you a chef yourself?" the chef asked.

"No, she's just really anal about her steaks," Angela said.

Bella just smiled at that and happily ate her steak.

"Fuck me, your girl's nuts, Jasper," Peter commented.

"Yeah, I guess she is," he chuckled.

After all was said and done, the manager comped our entire meal because Bella had taught the entire staff a good lesson on grilling steaks. She got to keep the chef's jacket and hat, and he even gave her a two hundred dollar gift card good at any Del Frisco's Steakhouse. We won't be going with her. No sirree, I will not set foot into another steakhouse again with Isabella Swan. No way, no how. The girl is nuts.

**Emmett's POV**

Bella looked so adorable with her face all scrunched up when she was complaining. She was completely serious in her endeavors, though, and she wouldn't back down until they perfected her steak, which she, ultimately, ended up cooking herself.

We were now hanging out at the Lavo Nightclub in the Palazzo Hotel. We figured that we were all dressed snazzy so we should go somewhere swanky. I had my arm around Jess. What I wanted to do was grab her titty and squeeze it, but I couldn't really do that here and now. I was falling for her quickly, that much was for sure. She was sweet and sensitive, nothing like that callous bitch, Rosalie, that I was married to for over seventy years.

I was sitting here trying to figure out how to tell Jess that I was a vampire. Jasper had it easy because he had Bella. She had figured out on her own that we were vampires when she was with Edward, but Jess wasn't as persistent nor was she as perceptive as Bella.

"Oh my God! Is that Paris Hilton!" she screeched, pointing at the entrance. We all took a look.

"Nah, that's a dude that kind of looks like Paris Hilton. I can see his Adam's apple bouncing up and down."

"You can see that far?"

Oops. "Uh, yeah."

"Oh my God, your vision must be incredible. You should be an airline pilot or something."

"Yeah, Em, you really should, considering that your vision is so sharp," Bella smirked.

Geez, I think I miss the old docile Bella that Fuckward was dating. This new Bella was kind of mean.

We were all dancing on the dance floor when my nostrils were suddenly assaulted by unwelcome scents. Our exes had just approached us.

"Bella, get away from Jasper," Edward chastised.

"Edward stick your hand in your pants, twist until you hear a snap, then shove your dick down your throat," Bella replied.

All four of our exes were seething with anger. We were laughing our asses off.

"Don't you fucking tell my friend who she can and can't dance with, you dick!" a pissed off Lauren yelled at Edward. The three girls soon flanked Bella and stared down the evil four.

"Bella, Edward is just concerned about your safety," Esme said, sweetly.

"Um, honestly, he has no say on my life anymore. In fact, none of you do. So, kindly, take a hike."

"Don't you talk to my ma...partner like that!" my angry ex-wife got right up into Bella's face.

"Listen to me bitch," Bella snapped. "You, of all people, shouldn't give a fuck what happens to me. Now, if I were you, I would just walk away from us because, in all honesty, you're making a scene."

Rose, who was all concerned about her image, backed off.

Alice was about to open her mouth to say something when the four assholes from Forks High made an appearance.

"Holy shit! Are we going to have a smack down!" a drunk Mike Newton said.

"No, Mike. Rose here was just saying how attractive she always found you to be when she was at Forks High," I said.

Rose gave me her death glare. I gave her the finger. The guys and I quickly took the girls and made our way out of the place.

"_Did you find out what hotel they were staying at?"_ we heard Alice ask Edward, just as we reached the entrance.

"_No, I couldn't get a thing off of any of them. Are your visions still blurry?"_

"_Yes, very. I think it's because you refused to let me search for her in my visions all of these years."_

"_I think you're right, love."_

Hmm...interesting. Alice and Edward both have powers that have gone haywire. I wonder what that's all about?

Jasper, Carlisle, Pete, and I all eyed each other with concern. Clearly, they had heard the fuckers too.

We decided to head back to our hotel and party in our room for a bit. The girls wanted to swim in the terrace pool. Hell, I didn't mind. After a while, the girls got cold so we headed back to their room to take a dip in their hot tub. Bella kept whispering that we brought the core temperature of both the pool and the hot tub down. We probably did.

A couple of hours later, we were all making out with our mates in their bedrooms. I could hear everyone whispering words of love and adoration to each other. It was kind of sweet. Suddenly, all hell broke loose when we heard Angela screaming. It wasn't a normal scream. It was one that could only happen when the change was happening. Fuck me.

**Carlisle's POV**

"Holy shit!" I bit Angela. I bit her. I was making love to her, lost control, and I bit her. Motherfucker!

Jasper was the first to come barreling into the room, at vampire speed, with Bella cradled in my arms. Peter and Emmett were next. A minute later, Lauren and Jessica came inside.

"What the fuck?" Lauren screamed.

"Jesus Christ, Carlisle, did you slip?" Peter asked.

"Of course he slipped, you fucking idiot. Why the fuck do you think Angela's screaming in agony? Did you inject enough venom? Is she changing?"

Why is it that the only human in the room who knows what we really are, is the only one asking the right questions?

I completely lost my composure. Jasper rushed over to Angela and started checking her over.

"Not enough venom, Carlisle. You have to bite her some more."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Jess was chanting.

That's exactly how I felt. When Jasper saw that I wasn't moving. He took action and started injecting his venom into Angela's wrists, ankles, and finally the other side of her neck. He was careful not to bite over my mark.

"What the fuck is going on?" Lauren asked.

"Why the hell are Carlisle's eyes red?" Jess questioned.

"Quiet!" Bella yelled. "We need a fucking plan! Your questions will be answered later. Someone gag Angela before she wakes up the entire hotel."

"Don't tell me to be qui..."

Jasper knocked Lauren and Jess out for the time being. They both slumped to the floor with a decided thump.

A plan. A plan. That's what we need. A plan. I can't think. Oh my God! Shit. I can't think.

Bella slapped me across the face using Jasper's hand.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"Get your fucking head together, Carlisle. That's an order," she growled.

"Head together, yes. Good idea. Yes."

Bella grabbed a hand towel and stuffed it in Angela's mouth to muffle her screams.

"What the fuck are you assholes doing standing there? Do you think that everything is just going to work itself out while you're twiddling your fucking thumbs? Let's get this shit figured out now!"

"I told you she was your mate, Major," Pete commented to Jasper.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jasper agreed. Then, he took command. "Alright, Carlisle, you're going to have to get your head on straight. You're going to drive straight home to Arizona. The house is secluded enough for a newborn to get over her bloodlust and become accustomed to this life. You can handle her alone, Carlisle. You handled Edward, Esme, Rose, then Emmett. You can do this and you have to do this. After we tell Jess and Lauren what we are, the mating pull is going to hit them. We won't be able to be separated from them."

"Okay, I can do this," I said. "I need some clothes for her."

"Carry her to the bathtub, Carlisle. I'll bathe her. I've already packed her suitcase. Is she going to need more clothes?"

"She'll need a ton, Kitten. You go through more clothes during your newborn year than any other time. She's gonna have to relearn everything," Peter explained.

"Okay, once we get home, we'll mail her clothes to you in Arizona."

I quickly returned to my hotel suite, packed, and made my way back to Bella's suite. Peter and Emmett helped me to bring Angela to my SUV. After that, I headed home at speed limit. I didn't want to chance being pulled over by the police.

I'm in utter shock and disbelief that, of all people, I was the one to lose control. I think it happened because I was so full of myself, thinking that, if there was one thing that I had, it was superior control of my bloodlust. What I didn't take into consideration is the fact that a major part of vampirism is instinctual. I forgot completely about my vampire instincts. The release that I had with my mate was so strong—more powerful than any that I had experienced with Esme, that it completely overtook my senses and I sunk my teeth into her. I hope to God that she forgives me for my transgression. I'll know in three days. For now, I'll just have to hope and pray for the best. But hey, I won the challenge! Oh, damn it, I didn't...I was supposed to keep her human. At least I won't have to work at Target, though.

**Peter's POV**

We kept Lauren and Jess knocked out for the night. Jasper knocked Bella out too, she was so antsy that she kept pacing the hotel room. Emmett and I returned to our hotel room so we could pack up our belongings and bring them to the girls' room. We booked ourselves onto the same flight as our mates to Seattle, and upgraded their tickets to first class. That way, we could sit with them. It was now eight am, we had just woken the girls up so that we could explain the situation to them. Room service was on it's way.

"Someone better explain to me what the fuck is going on?" Lauren asked. "Bella! You seem to be the only one of us who knows. You'd better tell us or so help me God."

"Alright, calm down," Bella commanded. "Remember when we were attending high school and you always said that there was something different about the Cullens?"

"Yeah."

"What kind of things did you notice were different?"

"You already know, Bella. We've discussed this."

"Humor me."

"I'll do it," Jess said. "They were pale and almost ethereal in appearance. They never ate. They never hung out with other kids, and they always stuck together. They're eyes had a funny golden color, too."

"Good, now take a look at Emmett, Jasper, and Peter. Tell me what's so different about them."

"They're pale, ghostly pale, and they...oh my God...they have red eyes. And I just realized something else, they're cold, frozen almost. I just didn't realize this because I was so drunk."

"Excellent," Bella said. "There's a reason why they're like this. They're vampires."

"V...V...Vampires?" Jessica asked, terrified.

"Yes, vampires."

"Fucking awesome!" Lauren squealed. Well, cool, that was a surprise.

"Do you drink blood?"

"Yes, we do, but we only feed off of hardened criminals, drug pushers, rapists, murderers, and the terminally ill," Jasper explained.

Jessica's mouth opened, then closed. Lauren, on the other hand, took it in stride.

"Can I see your fangs?" Lauren asked.

"Um, we don't have fangs. Our teeth are very sharp though."

"No fangs? Well that's kind of a downer. Fangs would have been so cool," Lauren pouted.

"Wait a minute, if you're a vampire, how come you guys can go out during the day. Shouldn't you be in

dead in your coffins right now?" Jessica asked.

"Um, no, that's a myth. We don't sleep. We can do almost anything except go out in the sunlight."

"Oh, sure, because you would get burned to death, right?"

"Um, no it's because we'd expose ourselves to humans. We sparkle in the sunlight."

"Sparkle like a fairy?" Lauren asked.

"No, not like a fairy!"

"Yeah, they do. They look like glittering disco balls," Bella smirked.

"We do not!" I argued. "And you're not helping the situation."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be honest to my friends here, Glitter Boy."

"Glitter Boy? I'll have you know that I'm all man."

"Sure you are, you can light up an entire city street the way you sparkle."

"Hang on a sec, are you saying that you guys sparkle like fairies and have no fangs?" my mate questioned.

"Yes," we all said.

"Well, that just outright sucks. What's the whole point in being a vampire then? I mean for God's sake, couldn't you guys at least not sparkle like Tinkerbell? Or maybe grow fangs?"

"Lauren, I don't know why we sparkle, but we do, okay?"

She rolled her eyes at me. What the heck does she want from me? My blood?

"So, what happened to Angela last night?" Jess asked.

"She's transforming into a vampire as we speak. Carlisle took her home with him to Arizona," I explained.

"Now hold on a second here! Are you fucking telling me that Angela gets to be a vampire and we don't? That is like so unfair. What the hell makes her so fucking special that she gets to be a vampire, huh?"

"Sit the fuck down, Lauren, we're getting to that. God damn it!"

You know, I think Bella and Lauren have even dirtier mouths than Jasper and I do. Jesus Christ almighty!

We went on to tell them all about vampires and explained to them that they were our mates.

"So, I get to be with Emmett forever?" Jessica asked.

"If you'll have me," Em said.

"Of course I will. Oh my God. You make me the happiest girl on earth. I'll do anything for you, with you—as long as we can be together."

"Oh spare us from the mushy bullshit, Jess." Lauren rolled her eyes.

"No, shit. What the heck is this? Fourth grade?" Bella agreed.

Now how come Jasper and I don't get sweet, loving women like Carlisle and Emmett do? Jasper and I were both staring at our mates wide-eyed with our mouths wide open.

"Alright, so here's the plan. Emmett, Jasper, and Pete are coming home with us to Washington. I don't know about you guys, but I plan on finishing college. I only have a year to go anyway."

"I'm game for that. I've gotten this far, I might as well finish my degree," Lauren stated.

"Me too," Jess agreed.

"After the year is up, we hope that you girls want to be changed into vampires. That way we can be together for eternity," I said.

"Hell, yeah. I can't wait. Why can't you just change us now?" Lauren asked.

"Um, cause you'll go and eat everyone in front of you. Plus, you'll have to move to Arizona and be secluded from everyone for a whole year."

"Oh, well, I want to be changed when Bella is changed. And how come you never told us that the Cullens were vampires in the first place."

"She couldn't, Lauren. And you can't tell anyone either. The one rule of being a vampire is that the secret must be kept no matter what."

"Why? Is there like some vampire government or something like in Harry Potter?"

"Yes!" Emmett, Jasper, Bella, and I said at once.

"They're called the Volturi," Bella said, surprisingly. "You don't want to mess with their asses because they'll come down and reign terror on us."

"How the fuck do you know about the Volturi?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, your ex-wife told me about Aro, Caius, and Marcus."

"She did?"

"Yep."

"Huh, well that makes things easier."

"Wait a minute? What ex-wife?" Jess asked Jasper.

"Alice was my wife for over sixty years, Jessica. Rose was Emmett's for over seventy years, and Esme was Carlisle's for almost ninety years. But they weren't our mates, they were only our companions."

"Like legal fuck buddies?" Lauren asked.

"Um, yeah."

"I can live with that. I can't believe you fucked Alice."

"Neither can I," Jasper chuckled.

_**One month later...**_

"Hi, my name is Peter. Welcome to the Cheesecake Factory. I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

This is bullshit. Why I agreed to Bella's plan to work with my mate, I have no idea. This sucks the big one.

"I'll have an iced tea," the blonde lady ordered.

"I'll take a beer," her husband said.

"What kind of beer would you like sir?"

"What kind do you have?"

Fuck, not this shit again. I plastered a smile onto my face. "We have Stella Artois, Heineken, Amstel Light, Corona, Kirin Ichiban, Newcastle Brown Ale, Bass Ale, Guiness Draught, Blue Moon Belgian White, Stone I.P.A., Firestone Double Barrel Ale, Firestone Pale 31, Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pyramid Hefe Weizen, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light, and Michelob Ultra."

"Do you have Labbatt's Blue?"

Fucker, I just listed the beers. "No, we do not, sir."

"How about Rolling Rock?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Um, I'll just take a Bud Light, then."

"Certainly, I'll be right back with your drinks."

"How are you holding up, lover?" Lauren asked.

"Good. I need some lips, though. Don't worry, no one's looking."

She gave me a quick kiss. I wagged my eyebrows at her. Yep, I can get through tonight now. At least I don't have Emmett's job.

**Emmett's POV **

"Welcome to McDonald's. Would you like to try two apple pies for a dollar today?" I spoke into the microphone. I was working at the drive-thru window today. Jess tried to put me where I would be least likely to blow my top. Plus, I was only one of two people that spoke English fluently.

"_Uh, no thank you. I'd like one hamburger Happy Meal, ketchup and mayonnaise only on the hamburger."_

"What would you like to drink with that?"

"_Sprite."_

"Is the Happy Meal for a boy or a girl?"

"_A girl."_

"Would that complete your order today, ma'am?"

"_No, I'd like a six-piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal."_

"That's called a Mighty Kids Meal, ma'am."

"_Oh, is it? We'd like the Happy Meal version please."_

"A Happy Meal comes with four pieces of chicken."

"_Well, we'd like it with six pieces of chicken."_

"That's a Mighty Kids Meal."

"_Are you sure?"_

"I'm positive."

"_Oh, well, then we'll take a Happy Meal with six Chicken McNuggets."_

"Sure," I sighed and put her in for a Mighty Kids Meal. "What would you like to drink with that?"

"_An orange juice please."_

"There's an extra charge for that."

"_That's fine."_

"Any sauce for the Chicken McNuggets?"

"_What kind do you have?"_

"Barbeque, Sweet and Sour, Honey Mustard, Hot Mustard, Chipotle Barbeque, Ranch, Honey, and Spicy Buffalo."

"_We'll just take ketchup."_

"Is the meal for a boy or a girl?"

"_Boy."_

"Would that complete your order, ma'am?"

"_I'd like a Number One with a coke."_

"Would you like that in a large size ma'am?"

"_No, thank you."_

"Would that complete your order today, ma'am?"

"_I'd like another number one with a coke?_"

She couldn't have just ordered two number ones at the same time and saved me some trouble? I swear!

"Would you like that in a large size, ma'am?"

"_Um, no."_

"Would that complete your order today, ma'am?"

"_Um, can I change my drink to a coffee?"_

"Sure."

"_I'm the first number one."_

It's the same damn thing you fucking, brainless idiot!

"Would that complete your order today, ma'am?"

"_Yes, but could you just make sure that the fries are hot? The last time, they were cold and tasted like cardboard."_

"I'm sorry that happened, ma'am. I'll be sure to tell them to get you hot fries."

"_Thank you."_

That'll be twenty-one dollars and seventeen cents, please drive up to the first window."

This job fucking sucks shit. I'm getting paid minimum wage. I have to work in a grease pit, and deal with unruly customers and screaming kids all day. I will gladly repeat high school ten times instead of working in this hell hole. At least Jessica is an assistant manager, but I'm just a peon. Bella's idea fucking sucks! I'm not so sure which is worse, the pain of the mating pull or working here.

Pete has to work waiting tables, that wasn't much better. And then, there was Jasper. That fucker actually enjoyed his job. Asshole! Well, the shit isn't getting laid so the joke's on him.

**Jasper's POV**

"Hey, Bella."

"What is it, Jasper?"

"There's a new book on General Lee that just came in. Do you want me to hold it until payday?"

"Yeah, and can you hold the new Kerrelyn Sparks book for me, too."

"Sure thing. It just came in. You're talking about, 'Vamps and the City,' right?"

"Exactly."

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Jo Beverley's books?" a woman asked me.

"Sure, her books are in the romance section. Walk straight to the back of the store and she's in the very first aisle on you right, under B."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about her Malloren series, would you?"

"Yes I do, actually. You need to start with 'My Lady Notorious.'"

"Thank you."

"I can show you where it is if you'd like."

"That would be nice."

God, I love my job. The pay was lousy, but the atmosphere was great, my mate was with me, and everyone who worked here loved to read books. I was thanking God that I had a mate that was smart enough to pick a job that was actually fun. On top of that, her major was English and History. Easy peasy. I was having the time of my life.

Pete and Emmett, on the other hand, were grouchy as all hell. Lauren was majoring in psychology and Jess was majoring in education. Since neither of them had any background in the subject, they had to sign up for random courses in the same building as their mates. I got to take classes with Bella since I've majored in both English and History at some point in the last sixty years. Pete and Emmett were pissed off about that.

Angela had woken up three days after completing her transformation and she was adjusting beautifully. She was pissed off at Carlisle because she wanted to finish her nursing degree. Carlisle swore to her that she could complete it once she got over her bloodlust, and that he would even go to nursing school with her. That made her happy.

After we got home, Bella, Jess, and Lauren gathered up her belongings, packed them up, and shipped everything to her in Fredonia. The girls video chat with Angela everyday, and it was like nothing had changed. Lauren and Jess lied to their parents about Angela's whereabouts. They told them that she received a scholarship to study nursing abroad in Kuwait. She called Charlie and Patty twice a month to let them know she was okay. They cared for her like a daughter.

The parents have all come for a visit and Emmett, Pete, and I have all met them. We were becoming experts at keeping hand warmers in our pockets. Lauren turned us on to spray tanning so we didn't look so pasty when we met them. Jessica's parents were really cool. Her father was a Texan through and through. Emmett brought out his Tennessee drawl, and that won him over in a heartbeat. Lauren's mother, Pat, was sweet and sassy at the same time, just like her daughter. She liked us, though, and she gave the three of us haircuts when she came.

Bella's father Charlie, though, now he was a different story altogether. I thought Bella was stubborn, but, damn it, this guy was a tough nut to crack. He grilled us all, then gave us the third degree. He eyed the three of us and told us that if any harm came to any of the girls, he'd make sure that we didn't see the light of day for the rest of our lives. Pete found humor in that and started laughing. Alright, I might have projected my humor onto him so I could keep a straight face. Charlie Swan was none too pleased. I kept getting feelings of mistrust from him. The man knew we were hiding something huge. Somehow I got the feeling that he knew a lot more than he was letting on.

**Now that the truth has been revealed, things will be moving along and you'll be finding out who the villains are and what exactly they're up to beginning next chapter. So get ready for some fun.**

**So, how did you like Bella in a steakhouse? She's a bit extreme, isn't she? Carlisle was the one that slipped, I bet that came as a huge surprise. Did you like how Bella and Jasper took charge of the situation? What did you think of Lauren and Jessica's reactions at finding out that their new boyfriends are vampires? Do you like our working vamps? And how much does Charlie know? Let me know your thoughts and I promise to reply. XOXO mama4dukes**

****I'm in absolute shock...in a good way. Life Happens, So Just Roll With It was nominated in several categories in the 3rd Annual Everything's Bigger in Texas Awards hosted by Jasper's Darlin's. I have no idea who nominated my story, but thank you so very much...I am absolutely touched by your gesture. The categories it's up for are:** Best Southern Charm fic, Best Vamp Jasper, Best Jasper Quote** for this one, _"I thought guys talked about sex a lot, but these girls can put the conversation in any men's locker room to shame. Right now, they're talking about getting off using a rabbit. Now, in my day, we kept rabbits as pets, but these girls are using them to have orgasms with. I wonder how they train them? I'm not so sure about bringing a live animal, no matter how small it is, into the bedroom. It might be a little too kinky, even for me. I'll have to talk to Bella about that, before we do that." _It's also up for **I Dream of Bella, Best AU Jasper Fic, Best Original Storyline, Best WTF Moment, and Best Overall Jasper Fic. **Voting is open through October 15th, if you'd like to chime in your opinions for this and the other wonderful stories that have been nominated. You can take a look at the categories here: **jaspersdarlins (dot) blogspot (dot) com / 2011 / 10 / vote-now (dot) html******


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, hello everyone! Thank you for your wonderful reviews, it looks like the majority of you fear Bella in a steakhouse. She wasn't that bad was she? Without further ado, I present to you the sixth chapter of this insane story.**

**If you are offended by swearing, it's best that you do not read this story.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only.**

**Peter's POV**

"Aw, hell, no, there is no fucking way in hell that you girls are going to those parties dressed like that!" a normally complacent Emmett yelled.

"Hell, yes, we are!" Jessica hollered back. "It's a Halloween party, Emmett!"

"Jess, you're dressed like an oversexed cowgirl!"

"It's a fucking costume!"

"Can't you wear overalls and carry a pitchfork or something?"

"No!"

"Your tits are spilling out!"

"Emmett, calm down, it's only a costume party and they're only going to be down the road," Jasper said.

"Yeah, no need to get bent out of shape," I agreed, then turned to my mate. "What the fuck do you think you're wearing?"

"I'm a naughty nurse. Is there a problem?" Lauren asked.

"Can't you wear hospital scrubs? That costume ain't authentic."

"Are you trying to dictate to me what I can and can't wear?"

"Yes!" I blurted out.

"Well, you can go fuck yourself, Peter Whitlock. Now the girls and I are simply going to a party, that's all."

Bella came strolling downstairs wearing a trench coat belted at the waist and heels, at that moment, "Are you girls ready?"

"And what are you supposed to be?" Emmett asked.

"Oh, I'm a businesswoman."

"Well, I like your costume," Jasper said, smugly.

"I think Lauren and Jessica should dress more like you," I stated, looking pointedly at my mate and her cowgirl cohort.

"I'm glad you think so. I worked hard on this ensemble."

A minute later, the girls walked out of the house and we men were left all alone. They were at a house party about a block down from where we lived.

Thirty minutes went by and Emmett and I were growling at the thought of our mates. Suddenly, my gift started nudging me. "Um, guys, we need to pick up some costumes and head to that party."

"Why? Are the girls in trouble?" Jasper asked.

"Nope, but they're going to be drunk off of their asses and you saw how they were dressed."

"True," Emmett said. "Alright, let's head to the costume store, then."

We got to the costume store and there weren't many choices left. I went as a doctor, Emmett dressed as a green M and M, and the only thing left for Jasper was a pimp daddy costume. We paid for our costumes, quickly returned home to get dressed and headed for the party.

The party was hopping, everyone was drinking like fish and, haha, oh, Bella, Bella, Bella, Jasper is going to be pissed. And there he goes.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my girlfriend," Jasper said with a deadly scowl on his face. "That's not the costume you were wearing when you left."

"I was wearing this when I left," she said.

"You were wearing a trench coat! What happened to it?"

"I took it off. It was hot."

"Put it back on."

"No."

"Bella, I'm ordering you to put your trench coat back on. You lied to me, you said that you were a businesswoman. That's a Playboy bunny costume."

"And Playboy bunnies can be construed as businesswomen. They have business contracts and everything. I didn't lie, Jasper. You know that I'm right."

"Put the fucking trench coat back on."

"No."

Just then, a pretty boy dressed as a vampire approached Bella and whispered, "I want to suck your blood," in her ear.

Jasper looked like he was going to go on a murder rampage starting with the pretty boy. Bella put a restraining arm on Jasper. He pulled her flush against his body.

"Hey, Bella. You're looking good, baby."

"Brian, how's it going? I like your costume. Vampire?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd be a creature of the night."

"Cool."

"So, I was wondering, what you're up to tomorrow night. We're having a huge beach, party blowout at the frat house. Wanna be my date?"

"Brian, I have a boyfriend."

"Since when?"

"Since this summer. This is Jasper. Jasper, this is Brian," Bella introduced them to each other.

"Nice to meet you," Jasper said as politely as he could muster. It sounded more like a sneer, though.

"Now what am I going to do, Bella? I need someone to pretend she's my girlfriend. I can't have my frat brothers knowing that I'm gay."

Jasper suddenly started smiling brightly. He looked as if he were going to start doing a happy dance at the revelation. "Bella will go with you. I'll loan her to you," Jasper stated.

"Really? You will?"

Bella looked pissed off. She glared at Jasper with her hands on her hips.

"Sure, just, um, bring her back safely," he said.

"Great! I'll pick you up at seven. Wear your red bikini."

Jasper's jaw dropped at hearing that.

"Jasper, you fucking idiot. I was going to bring you as my date. I don't want to go with Brian. You need to ask me first."

"I'm sorry, Bella, I...where are you going?"

"I am going to tell Brian that I don't want to be his date tomorrow night and that he's going to have to find someone else to bring."

"You fucked up there, bro," Emmett said. "Why the hell would you offer your girlfriend up like that?"

"I was just so happy that the fucker was gay and not going after my Bella that I got caught up in the moment."

We could hear Bella explaining to Brian that she really wanted to take Jasper to the party and that he would need to find another date. Then she snagged a cute redhead and introduced her to him. The redhead was gushing all over the poor guy who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of...oh shit, off of me. Did he just wink at me? Come to think of it, a couple of guys are winking at me. Shit, did that guy just grab my ass? What the hell? Am I some sort of a gay magnet.

Bella returned to Jasper in her hot as fuck bunny costume and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Hi, I'm Randy," some flamboyant gay dude walked up to me and greeted.

"Um, I'm Pete. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Listen, we're having a party over at my frat house tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wanted to stop by."

"And what house is that?" I asked.

"Delta Lamda Phi. My frat brothers are really sweet. I'm sure they'd want to meet you."

"Um, sure, can I bring a date?"

"Of course you can. The more of us the merrier."

"Okay, thanks. That's really nice of you."

"Hey, no problem. We have to stick together, you know."

Bella was giggling as she stared at the two of us.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she smirked.

"Hi, Em, what are you doing here?" Jessica planted a big, fat kiss on her mate's lips.

"I missed you, baby."

"Oh, spare me!" Bella huffed.

Jessica stared at my lab coat, then she burst out laughing. Jasper and Emmett both took note and the two of them joined Jessica and now Bella, too.

"What?" I asked, losing my temper a bit. Then I saw it. I looked down at my labcoat and the nametag read, 'Dr. Bendover, Proctologist' on it.

Well shit, no wonder I'm a gay magnet, tonight. I need Lauren. Where the hell is she? Oh, there she is...she's...aw, man! She's giving all of the men check ups and they're all lining up to see her. Why me? This is so not my night.

"Lauren, baby, come on, let's go," I said, gently.

"Hey, get in line asshole. I'm next!" a frat boy in a Batman costume said.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"I said, I'm next, get to the back of the line!"

"Yeah, well office hours are over! This is my personal nurse, she's taken!" I slung my mate over my shoulder and walked away. I deposited her on a sofa where Jasper, Bella, Emmett, and Jess were sitting and making out.

Lauren's 'patients', and I use the term loosely, all decided to follow me.

"Hey! You can't just..." frat boy trailed off. He and his friends shrank in fear as Jasper and Emmett stood up to their full heights, flanked me, and stared the guys down.

"Problem?" Jasper growled. I could tell that he was sending them large doses of fear because two of them pissed in their pants. They were all shaking. Oh shit, now everyone was shaking in fear.

"Jasper, you're projecting too much. These are college students having fun at a Halloween party," Emmett said.

Jasper abruptly pulled back on his gift without sending out any calm. Every single person at the party started screaming in fear and went running from the house, including our mates. Well, Bella, was still sitting on the sofa with an arched eyebrow.

"Really smart, Jasper," Bella said, sarcastically. "You scared all of the little college kids away. You probably traumatized them for life. They're going to have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and a whole host of other psychological issues and they won't even be able to explain why."

"I was just trying to help Pete out," he argued.

"Did you have to use your gift on them?"

"Come on, let's get of here. We have to go and scent out Lauren and Jess," I sighed.

Bella put her trench coat on, then Jasper carried her on his back as we went searching for Emmett's and my mate. It turned out the two of them went straight home. They were both huddled on the sofa, holding each other. As soon as they saw me and Emmett, they bolted into our arms.

"Wh...What the hell was that earlier?" Lauren asked.

"That was me using my gift. I was sending those boys some fear, and I ended up projecting throughout the house. I'm sorry, I scared ya, darlin'," Jasper apologized sincerely. He sent large doses of calm and happiness throughout the house. I knew because I was beginning to feel loopy.

"We should probably get you girls to bed," I said, suddenly feeling tired. I think Jasper was sending out lethargy, too.

"Yeah, I'm kind of beat. I have no idea why. It's only nine pm," my mate replied.

"True, oh, by the way, you and I were invited to a party at a fraternity called Delta Lambda Phi tomorrow night."

"At the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, straight fraternity? Okay, it could be fun." Lauren shrugged her shoulders, then started yawning.

"They have gay fraternities?" I asked.

"Of course they do," Jess answered. "It's a free country."

Since when did humans become so progressive. Why am I feeling so tired? Aw, man, now I feel like sleeping and I'm a vampire.

"Well you guys are coming with us, right? The guy said the more the merrier," I said, hopefully

"Jasper and I are going to a beach party blowout tomorrow night, Pete."

"Jess and I have work," Emmett groaned.

"I'll put you at the drive-thru again, Em," Jess tried to soothe.

"No, I don't feel like dealing with people. I'll help in the kitchen tomorrow night."

"Sure, whatever you want."

Poor guy, he was dealt such a raw deal when it came to part time jobs. At least I got tips.

I looked up at Jasper and he looked annoyed. He had his arms wrapped around Bella from behind, probably with his erection digging into her back, his hands had slunk it's way into the front of her trench coat.

I suddenly felt a strong burst of lethargy, man now I really feel like sleeping and I can't fall asleep. I'm a vampire.

"I really need to hit the sack, I can barely keep my eyes open," Lauren said. "Come and hold me for a bit, Peter."

"Sure, babe." I noticed a smug look of satisfaction on Jasper's face as we all loped to our bedrooms.

As soon as we closed the door, we were hit with a burst of joy and a ton of lust. You see, this was the problem with living with Jasper. Sometimes, like tonight, we were at his complete mercy. He obviously sent us the lethargy so we'd take off for our bedrooms, but that's only because he wanted to get Bella alone. With a flick of a switch, he had complete emotional control over us. We were quite literally his emotional slaves when he wanted us to be. Doesn't matter, though, the fucker still ain't getting laid by his virgin mate. That, at least gave me a small sense of victory.

_**Five months later...**_

**Edward's POV**

I couldn't get my mind off of her. Ever since I ran into her in Las Vegas, her beauty combined with the scent of her blood was on the forefront of my mind. I wanted another taste, desperately. It was the oddest thing in the world, my gift didn't work very well in Las Vegas and neither did Alice's. After a thorough discussion, we came to the conclusion that it was the sheer amount of people in Las Vegas that weekend that inundated our minds. It made sense, we were unable to get a grasp around our gifts because there were so many voices convoluting my brain, and decisions being made by everyone around us, so that Alice couldn't see.

We ran into our former family members and Peter Whitlock in Las Vegas. I really didn't need to see them. They were making a play for Isabella and her friends. They were as unrefined as usual. Disgusting, definitely not the type of people that we want to associate with.

I was annoyed as hell that Isabella had become crass and unladylike. I wasn't surprised, though, considering the company that she was keeping. Lauren Mallory, Jessica Stanley, and Angela Weber were among the worst of the female population at Forks High School. Although Angela Weber was a minister's daughter, her thoughts were too impure. She had given herself to Ben Cheney and she was constantly cursing her devout parents in her mind. In fact, all three girls weren't virgins when we left Forks High School. Isabella was, and she still is. I smelt her blood, it was still pure.

I needed Isabella. I needed my cock inside of her and I needed another taste of her blood. Phoenix wasn't enough. I wanted more. I needed Alice to make it happen for me again. And this time, I would have her body, too.

"Alice," I called.

"Yes, Eddie Pooh."

"I need you to do something for me."

"I already know what you're going to ask, darling. Of course, I'll get Bella for you. Unfortunately, I have no idea where she is. I still can't see her. The best thing is for me to contact Victoria and Laurent. They'll find her for you. This time you have to drain her, though. It's for the best, I've seen it."

"I trust you Alice."

"Of course you do. Now, let's make love so we can go shopping."

"Yes, my love." My cock grew hard as I pictured my innocent, virginal Bella in my mind. I closed my eyes and let thoughts of Bella's blood take over my mind as I entered Alice.

**Jasper's POV**

It was around nine pm on a Friday night in April. The school year was almost over, we only had five weeks to go. Then, the girls would graduate, say goodbye to their parents, and be changed. We were traveling a bit before moving to Arizona, though.

Emmett and Peter were making love to their mates. Bella and I still hadn't made it that far yet. She was frightened, and considering her past, I wasn't surprised. Sex was a huge step for her, and I wasn't about to force her. We have found other ways to relieve the pressure though. We've pretty much done everything, but the deed, and Bella was phenomenal at giving me oral sex—something Alice refused to do. I always reciprocated, and she enjoyed it immensely. In fact, that's what the two of us were doing now.

We were in our bedroom. Bella was on her knees with my cock in her mouth. She was sliding her tongue along the underside, then swirling it on the tip, and taking my whole length in again. She was running her tongue along the length again when the doorbell rang.

"Can one of you get the door? I'm inside of Lauren right now," Pete whispered.

"Same here," Em said. "I'm in Jess, not Lauren."

"Obviously, you shit for brains!"

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, too!"

I rolled my eyes at their banter. They could be idiots sometimes, no, most of the time. Bella got up on her feet and I kissed her tenderly, then zipped my jeans back up. We walked at human speed to the door. The doorbell was ringing again, urgently.

As soon as I opened it and caught sight of the pair standing on the doorstep, I had Bella shielded behind my back.

"Red alert!" I shouted. Peter and Emmett came bolting out of their bedrooms naked and crouched down into attack positions.

The two uninvited guests did something that I would have never believed next. They got down on their knees and put their hands up.

The male, who had the woman behind him spoke, "We mean no harm, Major Whitlock. My mate and I come with a warning for your Isabella. Her life is in danger."

I honed into Laurent and Victoria's emotions, they were emitting fear, worry, determination, and, above all, honesty. One thing was for sure, I never thought that I'd ever see the two of them again.

"Stand down," I told Pete and Emmett. "And get dressed."

"Don't do it on our account," Victoria said, brightly while eyeing the two naked men.

Bella started giggling from behind me.

I invited the two of them in. Pete and Emmett rushed back out with pants on. A minute later, Lauren and Jess, who were in pajamas, came rushing out with t-shirts for their mates. We all kept our mates by our sides. I noticed that Laurent kept a protective arm around Victoria, too. When I first encountered the two of them with James, I knew that Victoria and Laurent weren't as committed to James as he thought they were. They were his lackeys, and most likely forced to be in that position. He was a tracker and you can never run from a tracker.

I introduced Victoria and Laurent to Pete, Lauren, and Jessica. The three of them were well versed in the story of James, the baseball field, and Phoenix by now. I turned to the pair and and asked them to state their business.

Laurent did the talking. "Let me start at the very beginning, when we first encountered you at the baseball field. Victoria and I were still with James. James knew Mary Alice from the time she was still human, and once she was turned into a vampire, he introduced her to vampirism. The pair became lovers and stayed together for over twenty years. We met them about midway through their tenure together. Mary Alice and Victoria became close friends. Mary Alice declared that they would be best friends for eternity, that she had seen it in her visions. Victoria, though, quickly saw that Mary Alice's definition of friendship and hers held two entirely different meanings."

He paused before continuing, "Sometime in the nineteen forties, Mary Alice had a vision of you, Major Whitlock. She was tired of the nomadic way of life, and with your wealth, she knew that you were her ticket out, and left James. She knew that her visions would always keep her one step ahead of him. During a night of heavy drinking with Victoria, Mary Alice told her of her plans to attach herself to you. She knew that you were at your weakest and most gullible, at the time, so she went in for the kill, so to speak. James searched for her for years before finally giving up."

I was on fire internally. I wanted to start ripping heads.

"Baby, you're projecting," Bella whispered. I pulled her onto my lap and started breathing my mate's scent in. It was always calming. Jessica, who was sitting next to me rubbed my upper arm softly to keep me calm. I had become very close to Jess and Lauren, and considered them to be my sisters. I put one arm around Jess so I could keep myself calm.

I motioned to Laurent to continue. "I'm going to do a time skip to five years ago when we first encountered Mary Alice and your former coven. About a week prior to going to Forks, we received a phone call from her stating that she needed to meet with us. James was over the moon. He had missed his former companion and was hoping that she wanted to get back together with him. Of course, she had seen all of this, so when we met her in Portland, Oregon, she seduced James for two nights straight. By then end, he was a puddle of goo and she had him eating out of the palm of her hand. She explained to him that three of us would meet you in a field where you would be playing baseball. There, James would express an interest in Isabella, at which time, she would eventually bring her to Phoenix. James could play with Isabella as much as he wanted to before he drained her. No strings attached. After that, Mary Alice and James could be together for eternity. That's the story she told James."

"Fuck me," Emmett stated. "She had us all eating out of the palm of her hand."

Victoria, then, took over the story. "I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit. The idea of hurting an innocent human was disturbing to me, so I made a split decision to play the best friend card and told her that we should go out, just us girls, for old times sake. I got her drunk again. You know how easy it is to get her drunk, she could never hold her liquor."

It was true, Bella, Jess, and Lauren could out-drink Alice and they were still human.

"Anyway," Victoria continued. "I fed her a bottle and a half of Jack Daniels just to make sure she was good and drunk. I asked her what the real story was. She admitted that she needed to get rid of Isabella so that she could be with her real mate, Edward. She stated that Isabella is his singer and that she wanted Edward to be able to have a taste of her blood. She also said that the Major would be getting rid of James for good. That piqued my interest because Laurent and I had been trying to find a way to escape him. Every time, we'd run, James would find us. He needed me because of my gift, I'm able to get out of tight spots, you see. But James was a tracker of phenomenal skill, he was the one vampire that I was never able to escape from. I need to thank you for killing him, Major, but I believe it was done at the expense of your mate. For that, I apologize, Isabella. I will say, that we did try to get to you on time, but by the time we arrived at the ballet studio, help had already arrived for you."

"Thank you for trying. So, what brings you to us today?" Bella asked.

"As Laurent said, we've come with a warning and an offer to assist you in any way possible. I received a phone call from Mary Alice about a month ago. She was asking us to find you. Apparently, she's been unable to locate you through her visions. Anyway, she claims that you're in danger from the Major who wants to drain you dry. Mary Alice is saying that the Major blames you for their separation. I highly doubt it because I can see that you two are mates. Laurent and I have a feeling that she just wants to get you to Edward so he can taste your blood again."

"I think you're right," Peter sighed. "I wouldn't put it past the manipulative bitch. I'm concerned that you two might have led her straight to us, though."

"Impossible," Laurent stated. "I'm a physical and mental shield. Mary Alice was never able to see Vicky or me in her visions. Every vision that she has had of the two of us have been nothing, but fabricated lies. James never knew of my power. He only knew of my mate's ability to escape. He coveted that gift. Occasionally, I let my shield down so that Mary Alice can see the two of us making a decision. She believes us to be in Italy right now. If we're lucky, she'll go to the Volturi and they'll burn her alive just for being such an annoying bitch."

"Hahaha!" I started chuckling because that end bit was hilarious.

Peter suddenly stood up with a look of realization upon his face. "A shield. Bella's a shield. That's why the bitch can't see us and Pussward can't read her mind. That's it!"

"Holy shit, I think you're right, man," I agreed.

"What? What is it?" Bella asked.

Laurent looked Bella straight in her eyes. He put his thumb under her chin and said, "Isabella, I will train you."

"T...t...train? I'm a virgin."

Huh? What the fuck does virginity have to do with training to be a shield? Each and every one of us fixed her with perplexed expressions.

"He means that he'll train you to use your shield," Victoria explained.

"Oh, sorry. I'm reading a scary novel on BDSM. As soon as he said, train, I thought, well, you know. Forget it."

I slapped my palm over my forehead.

"Maybe you should stick to reading your regular romance novels, kitten," Peter suggested.

"I think you're right."

"You like romance novels?" Victoria asked excited.

"Yeah, do you like them?"

"Uh-huh. My favorite is Stephanie Laurens. I also like Julia Quinn."

"No kidding, I like her Bridgerton series," I said.

Pete, Emmett, and Laurent all gave me looks of incredulity.

"What? Don't knock it until you try it!" I yelled.

"Jasper's just more sensitive than you assholes are," Lauren stated. Peter tapped her on her ass for that.

"Where do you live?" Jessica asked.

"We're nomads, we don't have a permanent residence," Victoria said.

"How long has it been since you showered?" Lauren questioned.

"Oh, not in a few years."

"Ew!" Lauren scrunched up her nose, stood up, and grabbed Victoria's hand. She led her into the bathroom and told her to bathe. "And don't put your skanky panties back on either. I'll find you some clothes to wear!"

"Thank you!" Victoria yelled.

"Um, you can go bathe in the other bathroom. Go upstairs and it's at the end of the hallway. Peter will lay some clothes out for you. Oh, and, wash your hair. I'll help you redo the dreads if you like."

I nodded my head, indicating that it was okay to Laurent. He zipped upstairs at vampire speed.

When the water was running in both bathrooms, Peter whispered, "What do you make of them, Major?"

"I got nothing, but honesty from them both."

"My gift is telling me that they need to stay here," he admitted. "Oh, and Bella needs to be trained."

Her eyes widened in fear. She really needs to stop reading that BDSM novel.

"To use your shield, Bella. Although if you want me to tie you up and flog you, I'm offering," Peter added jokingly.

I growled at him before saying, "Yeah, she does need to be trained to use her shield, and who better than another shield to train her. We're with the girls twenty-four seven anyway. How do you girls feel about having guests stay with us?" I asked.

They all said that they were okay with it. Emmett said that he'd go with whatever decision we made. Besides, at this point, the added protection was needed. If Edward and Alice wanted Bella, then all of our mates were in danger.

**Poor Petey, Dr. Bendover, Proctologist had a rough night as a gay magnet, didn't he? What did you think of Edward's true desire? Did you like our surprise visitors at the end? Bella really needs to stop reading those BDSM novels, don't you think? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter and I shall respond to your review. XOXO mama4dukes**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! You guys rock! A bit of history on Laurent and Vicky and why the heck is Charlie so suspicious?**

**If you are offended by swearing, it's best that you do not read this story.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only.**

_**Five weeks later...**_

**Jasper's POV**

Graduation was yesterday and the girls and I went through the entire ceremony complete with cap and gown. Pete and Emmett didn't graduate because they had only enrolled in classes throughout the day to stay close to their mates. I had faked my papers and managed to get myself in as a matriculated student so I could stay with Bella.

Laurent and Vicky were turning out to be a great help. He trained Bella with her shield and helped to maintain the house while we were in school and working. Vicky cooked all of the meals. Bella said that she was a terrific cook. It turned out that her mother was a scullery maid in England and she had grown up helping out in the kitchens of British royalty. She was transformed in 1574 at the age of twenty-four. Laurent, on the other hand, was born into an aristocratic French family. He was transformed in 1740 at the age of forty. He met Victoria while she was escaping from an evil vampire named Boris who wanted her for himself. Laurent and Vicky soon discovered that they were mates, Laurent killed Boris and the two have been living as nomads ever since.

Charlie and Pat had come for graduation and were visiting us at home right now. Last night, the two of them and Jess's parents took us all out for a graduation dinner at a seafood restaurant. Apparently, they knew better than to go to a steakhouse with Bella. Pete introduced Vicky to everyone as his cousin, and Laurent, her husband. Jess's parents and Pat accepted us instantly. Charlie, however, was suspicious, and he was eyeing the whole situation with scrutiny.

Pat was currently working on giving everyone their bi-monthly haircuts. Much to Laurent's dismay, she took out a pair of clippers and buzzed his hair all off.

"You look so much more handsome this way. Don't you feel much lighter and freer instead of being weighed down by all that hair?"

"Yes," Laurent whimpered.

Pete was laughing away until she gave him a buzz cut too. He kept patting all around his head, as if it would make his hair grow back faster. She gave me what she called a skateboarder look.

"Oh my God! Your hair looks just like Zac Efron's in High School Musical," Jess said.

Aw, hell no! I rushed in front of the mirror and my jaw dropped. Fuck me!

I walked out of the bathroom and Pat asked, "Do you like it?"

I looked up to see both Charlie and Bella with serious expressions and arched eyebrows. "I love it," I lied. Thank God, vampire hair grows back quickly, unless you were like Alice and your hair follicles and cells were fried during electric shock treatments as a human so you couldn't grow more.

Laurent, Pete, and I sat on the sofa and sulked while Emmett got his standard buzz cut. Asshole!

She worked on the girls next. Vicky was last. She was just finishing up when she gasped, "Ooh! I snipped a bit of my own skin. The scent of her blood hit us instantly. We were about to leave, but it was too late, Vicky was draining Pat. Emmett rushed Charlie and the three girls to safety. Pete and Laurent managed to get Vicky off of Pat before she drained her, but it was too late.

Just then, Charlie rushed back out of the bedroom that Emmett had put him in. The next words out of his mouth shocked the fuck out of all of us, "One of you pasty ass vampires better turn my wife into one of you. I won't have her dead! I'd rather have her walking the earth as one of the living dead, than buried under soil. Now do whatever the fuck you have to do!"

Pete and I were so shocked that we dove in and injected Pat with our venom. She started screaming in pain immediately. I took my t-shirt off and shoved it in her mouth to quiet her screams. Vicky was sobbing and apologizing. Laurent was trying to console her.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Oh, I've known about vampires since before Bella was even born. Now, I'm through with all of the lies. What really happened to Angela?"

So, I told him everything. What else could I do? The girls and Emmett were all listening raptly to me explaining everything to Charlie, including the fact that the girls were our mates. Laurent helped by telling him what really happened to Bella in Phoenix and about Alice and Edward's new quest for her blood.

"What I'd like to know is why the hell my daughter is walking around as a fucking human instead of as a vampire? If the fucker wants her blood, then the obvious thing to do is to turn her into a vampire so her blood is no longer accessible. What do you guys have? Shit for brains?"

"I wanted to graduate from college first, Dad."

"Well, you've graduated now so you have no excuse."

"Dad, how did you know that they were vampires?"

"Billy Black told me some tribal legends when we were kids. I put two and two together when the Cullens moved to town and I overheard Billy telling Harry that the Cullens were back after over seventy years, and they should prepare their sons and reiterate the story of the Cold Ones. The Quileutes are supposedly werewolves."

"Werewolves?" Bella, Jess, and Lauren shouted.

"Oh my God! Bella, was there a full moon out when Edward abandoned you in the woods? Because you could have been attacked by a werewolf!" Jess was completely besides herself.

"Calm down girls, I've met them," Emmett stated.

"Who?"

"Ephraim Black, Levi Uley, and Quil Ateara. I met them in the 1930's when we first lived in Forks. They aren't true werewolves that are controlled by the moon, they're shapeshifters. They literally turn into giant, horse-sized wolves and they smell rank. Carlisle made a treaty with them. As long as we don't bite a human and feed from animals, we can stay in Forks. We're also not allowed in La Push. There's a boundary line drawn."

"Wait a second. You guys feed from humans. Why are you rebuilding the house in Forks, then? Shouldn't you just sell the property?" Bella asked.

"We planned on feeding from animals when we went there," I explained.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, what's the game plan with my wife? When will she wake up and when can we go home? Don't one of you guys have to be buried underground for twenty-four hours with her or something? Do you have a shovel? I'll help you dig a hole in the backyard."

"Huh?" Laurent and Vicky stared at him perplexedly. The rest of us started howling.

"Charlie, have you been watching True Blood?" I asked.

"Yeah, Patty makes me watch it."

"Um, those are fictional vampires. We're not like them at all." I explained what real vampires are really like.

"Wait a minute? So, I've been wearing this silver chain around you guys and looking like a pussy for nothing?"

"Yep," I chuckled.

"Well that sure bruises a guy's ego."

"Probably."

"What about garlic? I've been carrying this garlic bulb in my pocket, just in case."

"Oh, I'll take that," Bella said. "I needed to run to the store for some anyway."

"Garlic doesn't work either, huh?"

"Nope," I smirked.

"So, when is she going to wake up?"

"In three days. You won't be able to be near her then. She'll smell your blood and eat you. In fact, you won't be able to see her for nine months to a year, possibly longer."

"A year? I'm a guy. I've got needs."

"Oh yuck!" Bella and Lauren gasped.

"Sorry girls, but just because we're forty-two doesn't mean our libidos have stopped."

"Too much info, Charlie!" Jess yelped.

"Look, Dad, how about we make a deal? You don't speak of your sex life, and we won't speak of ours," Bella stated.

"You have no sex life, Bella. You're still a V," Lauren smirked.

"I knew I liked you, son," Charlie said to me. He glared at Peter, though. Hey, I was winning brownie points with Bella's dad. Cool.

Peter, Emmett, and I were trying to figure out what to do with Pat while Laurent explained to Charlie about the newborn stage of vampires.

"Excuse me," an impatient Bella stated to all of us, suddenly. She had her arms folded in front of her chest and she was tapping her feet.

"What, babe? We're trying to figure out what to do with Lauren's mom."

"Um, the answer is obvious. You need to take her to Carlisle in Arizona. Laurent and Vicky can go with her. I think the bigger question is, how are we going to explain her absence?"

"Car accident," Charlie said. "We fake a car accident and kill us both off. You and Lauren will then inherit everything. You two sell the house, and you can forward our money to us. That way, we'll have money to live off of when we're both vampires."

"Pardon me?" Bella asked. "I thought that I just heard you saying that you were both going to be vampires."

"Well, what did you expect? For me to go for a year without sex?"

"Yes, actually."

"Fuck that, a year's a long time."

"He's right, Bella. He and Pat are in love. You can't keep them away from each other," Jess agreed.

"Besides, this way we can keep an eye on all four of you girls for the rest of eternity," Charlie smirked.

All of our jaws dropped. Oh fuck.

Pete suddenly spoke. "Okay, here's how it's going to go. Em, Jasper, and I have to gorge ourselves on animal blood. Charlie, you were planning on staying up here for a week this time anyway, right?"

"Right, I wanted to catch a couple Mariner's games."

"So we fake your deaths in a week. Meanwhile, if we feed from animals three times a day, I think our eyes will turn to gold by then so we can go back to Forks with the girls."

"Pete, it takes ten to fourteen days for our eyes to return to gold after feeding from humans."

"Charlie, when are you two due back at work?"

"The Monday after next."

"So we fake their deaths on the Monday after next. That's ten days from now."

"Yeah, and they probably won't call you girls until Tuesday or even Wednesday. Let's just hope your eyes change color by then, boys. Now, I know the perfect town between here and Forks to stage the accident. Can you steal bodies from the morgue?" Charlie asked.

"Don't worry about that part, Charlie. I'm an ol' pro at this," Emmett said.

"Alright, one of you girls have to bathe Pat and get the blood off of her so Vicky and Laurent can drive to Arizona. You do know how to drive, don't you?" I asked.

They both scratched their heads at my question.

"How the hell did you get by without driving for this long?"

"There was no need to. We were nomads."

"I've got an idea," Bella said. Of course she did. My mate was one of the few that could keep her head together in crisis situations, and I knew exactly which parent she inherited that from. "How about if Dad drives them?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. I can drive to Arizona and we can stage a car accident there. That'll buy you boys more time."

"Yeah, and on top of that, if there are wolves in La Push, they won't go snooping around all the way to Arizona," Emmett pointed out.

Three hours later, Laurent and Vicky had returned from a hunt, freshly fed. Charlie had gotten a quick nap in. The girls had bathed Pat, packed as much as possible in the form of clothes for her, and Charlie, Laurent, and Vicky were on their way to Carlisle in Arizona. Vicky was so remorseful that she carried Patty out and held her protectively in her arms in the back seat.

As soon as they left, realization seemed to hit Lauren, "Oh my God, Bella! We're going to be stuck with our parents for all of eternity."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Well that just sucks!" she pouted.

**Charlie's POV**

It took me nineteen hours of straight driving, with a couple of stops for me to eat and piss, in order for me to get Patty to Arizona. Carlisle Cullen had already been notified of our arrival. I finally saw Angela and gave her the biggest hug that I could muster up. I had been completely worried about her. Once I saw Emmett, Jasper, and Peter in Seattle for the first time in September, I knew that she wasn't studying abroad.

When I was about eight years old, Billy had told me about some Quileute legends. He got the verbal beatdown of a lifetime for sharing them with me from his father. That's when I realized that there was probably some truth to the story and that I should not forget the story of the wolves and the vampires Even as a little sprite, I was a pretty sharp kid. Bella gets that from me, thank God, because her mother is a fucking flake. Pretty as all hell, but definitely missing a few marbles.

Years went by, and the year before Bella came back to live with me because Renee and Phil had to travel for his job, the Cullens moved into town. Once I shook Carlisle and Esme's hands when they were introduced to me, I knew that they were the vampires that Billy told me about years ago. Then, I overheard Billy and Harry talking about the Cullens and I put two and two together. Of course, my worst nightmare happened when Bella started dating that schmuck, Edward. She started lying to me and weird shit happened like when she was critically injured in Phoenix. Now that I know the truth about Edward, and what he wants, I planned on killing him and that fake ass midget, Alice. I didn't tell the kids, but the real reason why I want to become a vampire is so that I can kill the two fuckers and be on a level playing field. No one messes with my kid, and I'm going to fuck those two up so that they never walk on this earth again.

Angela and Victoria had moved Patty upstairs to a bedroom. This had to be the hugest, most kick ass house that I'd ever been in. Carlisle explained that Peter was extremely well off, but that Jasper was the wealthiest of the bunch. He had money to begin with as a human, and after he became a vampire, he acquired more assets when he and Peter went back to Texas to assassinate their sire, a sadistic female named Maria. They split her assets between the two of them and the two became wealthier than all hell. That was about ten years ago. Peter held onto Jasper's assets for him because he knew that his greedy wife Alice would take everything from him if she knew about it.

"Wait a minute? If Peter and Jasper are so wealthy, how come they were working with the girls?" I asked, Carlisle.

Carlisle explained to me about the ins and outs of mating, then. Apparently, the girls were stuck to the boys because of the pain of the mating pull. He said that Edward definitely was not Bella's mate, but that Jasper is. He also explained that the pain would subside once the girls were marked by the boys, but that it couldn't be done while they were human.

"Carlisle, how old are you, really? You look way too young to be in your thirties."

"I'm only twenty-three. I was changed in 1663 in London."

"Damn, you're old."

"Ah, he might be, but my Victoria is even older. She was changed in 1574 in London at the age of twenty-four," Laurent said.

"I had no idea that she was British. She hides her accent so well," Carlisle stated.

"Yes, well she is roughly two hundred years older than you are. She's had more practice."

"What about you, Laurent. When were you changed?"

"I was changed in 1740 when I was forty years old. I'm a middle aged French fucker."

"Nah, forty isn't middle aged. Patty and I are both forty-two. She and I both had our girls when we were only nineteen. We were too young to be parents."

"But you managed to raise them and you did a fine job at that. I won't feel so old anymore with you around, Charlie. It's not easy being surrounded by these young kids all of the time."

"I feel your pain," I chuckled. "But you're a cradle robber, aren't ya? Your wife is only twenty-four."

"Yes, I'm lucky."

"So, how old are Jasper, Emmett, and Peter?" I asked Carlisle.

"Emmett is twenty. He was changed in 1935 by me. He comes from Gaitlinburg, Tennessee. Peter is from Texas, changed in 1871 at the age of twenty-seven. Jasper is twenty, changed in 1864. His family were prominent plantation owners in Texas, he was also a Major in the Civil War for the Confederate Army. Peter was a Captain in the Navy."

"No kidding? I participate in Civil War Re-enactments. It's my hobby. That's why Bella has such a huge interest in history. If I didn't knock Renee up at such a young age, I would have gone to college and majored in history."

"Really?" Carlisle nodded his head. "You are a fascinating man, Charlie Swan. I'm glad that I can finally get to know you in earnest."

"Same here, doc. Now why don't you tell me how we're going to stage the car accident and turn me into a vampire."

Just then, their doorbell rang. A gorgeous, petite blonde woman with huge ass titties walked in with a

tall brown haired man. The woman approached me, stuck her nose in my neck, and took a deep breath. It was fine with me because I got to have her tits shoved in my face.

"Mmm...you smell delicious, sugar." she drawled. "Like strawberries and honey. My name is Charlotte Whitlock, this is my mate Garrett. And who might you be?"

"I'm Charlie Swan."

"Charlie Swan. Oh you must be related to Jasper's little kitten, Bella. You smell similar to her. She smells like strawberries and cream."

"Interesting. She's my daughter."

"Oh, now, you look too young to have a fully grown daughter."

"I was nineteen when she was born."

"Well, now that explains it. What brings you to these parts, sugar?"

"Charlotte, I called you and Garrett because his wife is changing and Charlie would like to be transformed as well. Angela is still in her newborn stage, and I'm not so sure if Laurent, Victoria, and I can handle three newborns at once. Laurent and Victoria don't have experience with newborns," Carlisle explained.

"You must be Laurent. I'm Charlotte, this is Garrett."

"A pleasure, madame."

"Ooh! French. Okay, now take me to Charlie's wife. Let me see what we're working with."

We all walked upstairs to where Patty was transforming. She was screaming in pain. Victoria was holding her in her arms while Angela dabbed her forehead with a cool washcloth. She was sweating like a pig and writhing in agony.

"When was the initial bite?" Garrett asked.

"About twenty-six hours ago," Vicky stated. "It was my fault, I s...s...slipped."

"I told you not to worry about it, Vicky. It was an accident pure and simple."

"So, she has roughly two more days to go." Charlotte pursed her lips and looked between me and my wife. "Oh good, you're mates. That'll make things a lot easier once you're changed. You wouldn't want to be changed and find out that your wife's not your mate later. That would suck the big one."

"I didn't realize that was a possibility."

"I'm sure you didn't, vampirism is complex. Now, if you have a dick, get out of the room. I need to strip this poor lady naked before she turns into a giant roast. Why you men think that women need to be covered up during their change, I have no idea. Oh, and Carlisle, you and the boys take Charlie out for one final night as a human. You'll need to change him tomorrow night."

"That's a good idea. I should take a quick nap. I've been up all night, though."

Carlisle led me to a bedroom on the other side of the house so I could get some rest. Three hours later, I felt completely refreshed. It was only about two in the afternoon.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"We're going out, Charlie," Garrett said. "Now come with us."

I settled my ass into a huge ass Dodge Ram truck. "Is this your truck?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"It's nice. I like it. It's way better than my wife's minivan. This is a man's truck. When you're driving a minivan, you have to imagine that you're driving a truck. Then you look in the rearview mirror, see all of the seats, and all of your man hopes are shattered."

Carlisle and Garrett started laughing. Laurent didn't seem to understand. "I really have to learn how to drive," he sighed.

We drove out of the huge gated estate then Carlisle told me that we were going to Las Vegas. It was only three hours away—two at vampire speed.

"Vampire speed? What's that?" I asked.

I had my answer as soon as Garrett floored his truck and kept it at a steady 110 miles per hour to Las Vegas without losing control.

"You do realize that I would have pulled you over if you were in Forks. I've pulled Carlisle over four times for speeding."

"That's right, you did," he chuckled. I paid all of my fines, though. You do realize, Charlie, that for some reason, you were the only cop that we were never able to get past."

"Damn skippy."

We arrived in Las Vegas an hour and fifty minutes later.

"So, what do you want to do tonight, Charlie. This is your night."

What did I want to do? Hmm... "I want to gamble away five thousand bucks, I want to drink like a fish, I want to see some titties, then I want you to change me before I wake up with a hangover. Oh, and I want to eat steak."

"Casinos, steak, liquor, and tits it is," Carlisle chuckled. "Let's do this men."

Garrett pulled into an underground garage at Caesar's Palace. We started with the casino there. I pulled out five grand from my bank and gambled it all in one go at the roulette table. I placed my bet on red number 7, and, lo and behold, I won. I was at ten grand now. I kept going seven more times until I got to one million two-hundred eighty-thousand bucks. Thank God I wasn't drunk yet because I stopped then, cashed in my chips, and took my new found wealth with me. I'd need that if I'm going to be a vampire.

"Carlisle, hang onto this check for me. I don't want to lose it tonight."

"No problem, Charlie, looks like tonight's your lucky night."

We went to a steakhouse called Del Frisco's next. The manager took one look at Carlisle and freaked out. "Carlisle, what's with that manager? He seems kind of shocked to see you."

"We came here with Bella and..."

"Say no more, she scared the hell out of him, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, trust me. I've been there. It's not a pretty sight."

"No, definitely not."

I'll tell you one thing, though. I had the most perfectly cooked, medium rare porterhouse steak in the world brought out to me by the chef himself. Bella must have put this guy through the wringer.

"So, Garrett, tell me about yourself," I said to make conversation. "Where are you from?"

"Originally, I'm from Boston. I was changed in 1780 at the age of twenty-five."

"So did you fight in the American Revolution?"

"Yes, I did."

"No kidding. Awesome!"

"I like participating in war re-enactments. Do you want to go sometime?"

"Sure, it sounds like fun."

We went to a bar where they were holding a wet t-shirt contest next. I was drunker than drunk and acting like a fool. Thankfully, Carlisle, Laurent, and Garrett were drunk along with me. The guys kept downing bottles of whiskey. When they finally hosed the girls down, the four of us stood up on our table and started cheering. Laurent stomped his foot so hard that the table splintered and cracked beneath us. We were thrown out of the bar after that.

We decided to walk along the strip and let some of the alcohol wear off. An hour later, a cop pulled over and ran into a McDonald's probably to grab a quick dinner or take a piss.

"The fucking idiot left his engine running. We've got to teach him a lesson guys."

"If you say so, Charlie."

We climbed inside and I started driving.

"Charlie, we just stole a cop car," Garrett said in realization.

"Hey, that guy isn't a cop. No cop leaves his keys inside with his engine running. I'm a cop."

Twenty minutes later, I heard an APB go out for the car that we were in. Since it was the last night of my life anyway, I decided to fuck around a little bit.

There was a silver Volvo in front of me like the one that little shit, Edward, used to drive. I pointed the radar gun at it then smiled. I turned the lights and siren on. The Volvo immediately pulled over to the side of the road. I saw that the cop left his uniform jacket in the patrol car so I put it on and zipped it all the way up. I got out and walked to the Volvo.

"License and registration," I demanded from the kid driving his parents' Volvo.

"Sir, I don't know what I did wrong, I..."

"I said, license and registration. Did I say that you could argue with me?"

"N...No sir." He reached into his dashboard, pulled out his registration, and handed me his driver's license from his wallet.

I walked back into the cop car for a minute, the guys were all staring at me like I was nuts. I returned to the Volvo and ordered the kid to get out of the car and lay face down on the pavement. I cuffed him using my handcuffs that I always carry, and pretended to search his car. I un-cuffed him a couple of minutes later, then had him get back into the car. By now, he was shaking.

"I pulled you over because you were going thirty-six miles in a thirty-five mile per hour zone. I'm gonna be nice and let you off with a warning this time, but remember this, I don't give second chances."

"Yes, officer, thank you."

I scowled at the kid one last time and made my way back to the cop car. Carlisle, Garrett, and Laurent started howling like banshees.

"You've probably scarred that kid for life," Garrett noted.

"I know, right," I chuckled.

Another APB was sent out from dispatch looking for our stolen cop car.

"Hey, Charlie, we've got to ditch the cop car," Carlisle stated.

"Yeah, I know, but if we're gonna ditch it, I'm gonna need your help."

I pulled away from the curb and passed the Volvo at top speed. Ten minutes later, I had driven the car to where they were least likely to be looking for it—the police station. The place was completely deserted with all available police looking for the stolen cruiser. The idiots never think about the GPS units installed in the car. Why? I have no idea.

We got out of the car and I had my three vampire buddies carefully place the car up on the roof. Before they did that, I jotted a quick note that read, _"Next time, don't leave the engine running, you fool."_

After that, I climbed onto Carlisle's back and we took off running back to the casino. We drank some more at some swanky hotel lounge located in front of a pool and went skinny dipping after we were good and drunk; got thrown out of another bar; drank a little more, then made our way back to Arizona. I rode on Laurent's back this time. Garrett had to leave his truck because he was too drunk to drive, but he told me not to worry about it because Las Vegas was only a forty minute run. Cool.

When we got back to the house, Carlisle asked if I had any last requests so I asked for some chocolate chip ice cream and an ice cold Heineken. He ran to a mini-mart and brought me back both.

While I was eating my ice cream, I decided to have a bit more fun. I made a drunk phone call to my ex-wife, Renee, because I felt like harassing her.

"Renee?"

_"Charlie, it's four in the morning, what the hell do you want."_

"I miss you," I lied. "I want you to come back."

_"Charlie, you're married, I'm married, we've moved on with our lives."_

"Let's get back together, baby. We'll raise our little princess together. Just you and me."

_"Charlie, our little princess has just graduated from college. I would have gone to her graduation, if Phil didn't have his traveling to do for baseball."_

Well, that plain pissed me off. The bitch was so selfish that she didn't give a shit about Bella anymore, now that she had her new, young husband. Time to get serious.

"You know something, Renee. You've got to be one of the most selfish bitches on earth. You met Phil, fell in love, and got married. You realized that Bella was in the way so you sent her to me, then proceeded to forget all about her. You didn't show up to her high school or college graduations claiming you were busy because of Phil. Well, those were once in a lifetime events in Bella's life, Renee, and you missed them. And what about the time she was nearly date raped a couple of years ago? She was really shaken up and she wanted her mother, but you were too damn busy with Phil to show up. At least, I can safely say that I was there for Bella when she needed me the most and to celebrate her achievements."

_"How dare you wake me up at four in the morning and started bitching to me about my way of parenting! Are you really that jealous of me and Phil?"_

I laughed out loud. "You'll never understand, Renee. You're so damn selfish that you think that everything is always about you. I'm through talking to you. Have a good life and good riddance." I ended the call before she could say anything to me, satisfied that I had just given my ex-wife the dress down that she should have gotten years ago.

A few minutes later, I called Bella, and told her that I loved her. She said that she loved me, too, and that she'd talk to me when I woke up to my new life. She also thanked me for being the best dad in the world. After that, I took a long soak in the tub, then had my last beer. As soon as I was done I felt a pinch in my neck. I fell fast asleep after that.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Well, do you like Papa Swan? He sure went out with a bang, didn't he? And he told Renee off to boot. What did you think of his real reason for wanting to be changed? Oh, and don't worry, he knows to give the girls space, heck, he needs more personal space than anyone. Let me know your thoughts and I promise to reply. XOXO mama4dukes**


	8. Chapter 8

_**One month later...**_

**Bella's POV**

Twelve days after Patty was bitten, Lauren and I finally received a phone call stating that our parents' charred and mangled bodies were found in a car wreck. We made our way to Forks with our mates and held a joint funeral for them three days later.

Emmett told us that there were Quileute wolves at the funeral keeping an eye on all of us. Jess, Lauren, and I were totally freaked out at the thought of wolves so we stuck close to our boyfriends. I was a bit upset at the funeral because my mother didn't have the decency to show up to the funeral. When I called her to inform her of my father's death, this is what she told me, _"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry your father is gone. I'd show up at the funeral if I could, but Phil is traveling right now. You understand, don't you?"_

As a matter of fact, I didn't understand. My mother hadn't shown up to any major events in my life, including my high school and college graduations, and now my father's funeral. This was all a farce so I didn't need her support, but what if my father were truly dead? It dawned upon me that while my mother cared, she cared about her own well-being much more than mine. And she didn't like it when anyone or anything, put a crimp in her life.

After the funeral, we packed up Dad and Pat's belongings. Dad had sold his house two years ago when he married Pat because her house had more room. Jess and Emmett stayed with her parents. The poor guy had to suck it up and eat three square human meals a day.

Pete and Jasper repainted the exterior of Pat's house and spruced up the interior, modernizing it, expanding the living room, and decreasing the size of the kitchen. They put in hardwood flooring throughout the house, and new windows. Then, rather than put it on the market. Pete purchased the house, in cash at above market value, stating that this way, we had a place to stay while they eventually rebuilt Carlisle's now demolished house in Forks. After that, we packed up their clothes and sentimental belongings, and shipped everything off to Arizona.

With Dad and Pat's estate all set, we returned to Seattle to pack up our house. We didn't have much except for books, clothing, and sentimental trinkets. We had rented the house furnished. We notified the owners that we were vacating the house two months early, they came to check that everything was in good condition, and released us from our lease. We told them to keep the security deposit and the final month's rent that we had paid in the beginning to cover the final two months of our lease, and they were fine with that.

Dad and Pat were doing fine. I guess my dad went out with a bang and partied it up with Carlisle, Garrett, and Laurent. Carlisle told Jasper that my father was the most controlled newborn that he had ever encountered. He was pissing both Angela and Patty off because he was, for the most part, completely normal and had hardly any bloodlust. In fact, he was hitting the bars with the guys and even went to see the Arizona Diamondbacks play a game. Patty, on the other hand, was a normal newborn. She was in the process of relearning her fine and gross motor control and learning to perform everything at a human pace, but she was adjusting fine with everyone helping her. We talked to everyone by video chat everyday.

It was soon going to be our turn to be changed. The six of us were traveling through Europe because we wanted to see it with our human eyes. Laurent had dropped his shield and he and Vicky had thrown Alice off course, by making her think that they were headed to Brazil to search for me. This way, we could travel in peace without worrying about the two fuckers finding us. The only place that we couldn't go to was Italy, but we were fine with that. Right now, we were in Paris, France. We were all on dates with our mates for the evening so it was just Jasper and me.

We had just had an amazing dinner at Taillevent, everything was perfect, the atmosphere, the food, the drink, my boyfriend, and now we were walking on the Pont Royal taking in the view of the river Seine below us. It was a sultry summer evening with just a slight breeze blowing to cool me down. Jasper stopped abruptly and pulled me into his arms to kiss me. I arched into him so that I could deepen the kiss. I melted into his arms with each second that ticked by.

"You know, I never thought that I'd ever meet someone that complements me in every way. You're everything to me, Bella. You're...aw shit...I had this worked out in my brain perfectly and now I'm all muddled up. So, I'm gonna forget about the fancy prose, and just come out and say what I have to say. Bella you like to read, I like to read. You like the Civil War, fuck...I was in the Civil War. You keep me grounded, you make me happy, and you swear more than a sailor in a gunboat under fire. You're beautiful, you're intelligent, and you can be elegant one moment and a total mess the next. That's you in a nutshell, I just love you—all of you, and you were made for me."

Then, he got down on one knee, and pulled out a ring. "Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I replied simply. He slid the ring onto my finger, got back up, and kissed me again.

And I was happy, and over the moon, because deep down, I was an old fashioned girl who wanted a wedding and a flowing white dress. And I wanted Prince Charming to be by my side forever. And that's what Jasper was to me, my Prince Charming. And he would be by my side for eternity.

**Emmett's POV**

"Emmett, are you sure we're allowed to be up here?" Jess asked.

"Hell, yeah. Where there's a will, there's a way. You wanted to see the Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower and that's where I'm taking you. Just hang on tight, sweetheart, I don't want to have to play Superman and have to fly down to grab you."

"Can vampires fly, Emmett?"

"No, we got the short end of the stick on that one. Doesn't it suck?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Okay, this is our stop. What do you think?"

"Oh my God! The view is so breathtaking!"

"Not as breathtaking as you are, Jessica."

"Aw, Em, that's so sweet. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." I cradled her face in my hands and looked into her beautiful eyes. "You know, when I was married to Rosalie, I was miserable for almost every minute of it. She was so cold, so callous, and she didn't know how to just enjoy herself. When I think about it now, I'm pretty sure it's because she wasn't my mate and she probably didn't feel right around me either. Don't get me wrong, the woman is still a selfish bitch, but I'd bet my last dollar that she hated being with me as much as I hated being with her."

"Well, you have me now forever."

"That's right, I do. So, I wanted to know. Hold on a second." I dug into my pocket and fished out a ring. "Will you be my wife, Jessica?"

"Oh my God! Em! Yes! Of course I will. I have one request, though."

"Sure."

"I want my daddy to walk me down the aisle so can we do it this summer."

"That's a big yes. Of course you want your daddy to walk you down the aisle."

"You've just made me the happiest man on the planet." And I meant what I said, too. This year has been nothing, but bliss for me. Even if I had to work at the grease pit called McDonald's for a year. Every second that I spent with my mate was a blessing. And I couldn't wait to marry her.

**Peter and Lauren**

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Give it to me, baby! Harder! You know how I like it."

"You asked for it, sug."

"Oh my God! Yes! Peterrrr!"

"Laurennnn!"

"That was incredible. Oh, the things you do to me."

"Wanna get hitched?"

"Sure."

"Here's your ring."

"Nice."

"I love you."

"And I love you. Now, fuck me again, Peter."

**Angela's POV**

I can't believe I'm back in Las Vegas again. Carlisle felt that I had enough control of my bloodlust to venture out. So far, so good. I haven't wanted to eat anyone which was a great thing.

"I have a surprise for you, Angela."

"You do?"

"Yes."

He pulled two tickets out of his pocket. With my vampire vision, I could read the writing clearly, I didn't need my contacts anymore. Well, I needed colored contacts to hide my red eyes, but that was only when I was out in public.

"Blue Man Group? For real?"

"Yes, you kept saying how much you wanted to see the show."

"Oh, I love you, Carlisle."

"I love you."

We watched the show and had an absolutely great time. I've never enjoyed a show so much in my entire life. As we walked from the venue, back to the hotel, I saw a bride and groom walking into the lobby. They seemed deliriously in love and had obviously just tied the knot. I took a look at Carlisle and realized how head over heels in love with him I was.

"Carlisle, I want to do one more thing tonight."

"Anything."

"I want to get married."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight. We're in Las Vegas. I'm in love, we're adults, and I can't find any good reason why we shouldn't. I can only find reasons why we should get married."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Okay. Let's go get a ring and do it."

We ran to the marriage licensing bureau and obtained a license. They pointed us to a jewelry store where Carlisle let me pick whatever ring I wanted. I didn't want anything ostentatious. Just a simple round-cut diamond ring with a plain band. I told Carlisle that the one-carat ring was fine, but he insisted that I buy the two-carat ring at least, so that's what I ended up with.

After that, we walked into a wedding chapel, said our vows, and I was now Mrs. Angela Cullen.

On the way back to the hotel, I started laughing.

"What is it, my wife?"

"You know something? My parents always wanted me to marry a preacher's son or a doctor. I just did both when I married you."

My husband started guffawing in the middle of the street. "Let's send them a postcard."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. Let's do that."

Guess who has the last laugh now?

_**Six weeks later...**_

**Jasper's POV**

"Jasper, you've got to call her off. The guy looks like he's going to cry."

"I can't do that, you know how she gets, Em."

"What the fuck is she doing now?" Lauren asked.

"Oh, fuck. She's getting the manager to call the one in Las Vegas."

"Can I just ask you why you agreed to listen to her and come here?"

"She wanted to use her two hundred dollar gift card that the manager in Las Vegas gave her. You can't fault her for that."

"I don't know if you know this, but she has roughly a thousand dollars worth of gift cards from steakhouses."

"She does?"

"Yeah, because she generally throws a shit fit whenever she's in one."

"_Este es color de rosa, no rojo!"_ Bella yelled in her limited Spanish to the Spanish speaking chef that the steak was pink, not red.

"_Si pero..."_

"_Um, no buts...quiero solamente rojo!" _Now she was telling him that she only wants red.

"Geez, Jasper. He's crying now. Look at him."

"_Ahem, ma'am,"_ the manager approached her.

"_Yes?"_

"_I just spoke with my colleague in Las Vegas. If you wouldn't mind just showing us how to grill a steak properly, we'd greatly appreciate it."_

"_Certainly," _Bella humphed.

"What's she doing now?" Jess asked.

"The manager just asked her to show him how to...excuse me, what are you doing with our steaks?"

"I'm sorry, the woman in the kitchen asked that your steaks be re-done."

The waiter took our steaks away.

"Fucking wonderful. I was enjoying that!" Jess groaned.

Twenty minutes later, we all had new steaks. It didn't fucking matter to Emmett, Peter, and I, but we had to play along for my psychotic mate's sake. I'm gonna be so happy once she only needs blood for her nourishment.

"Well?" Bella asked with her hands on her hips.

"Okay, I admit it. Yours steak is much better," Jess said, diving in for more.

"Oh my God! It's so juicy!" Lauren gushed.

"I agree," the manager who had pulled up a chair and joined us at the table stated. He called a waiter over. "Bring us a bottle of Jack Daniels and another wine for these fine people."

We were all shaking our heads. What the fuck was this guy doing at our table? When all was said and done, he comped our entire meal and gave us a five hundred dollar gift card good at any Del Frisco's. Now we had seven hundred bucks to spend here.

"What are we going to do with seven hundred dollars at a steakhouse, we're vampires and the girls will be one soon, too?" I asked Pete.

"Easy, they have a bar. We'll just piss it all away on drinks."

"Good idea."

We were in New York City because the girls had never been here. This was our last stop in our whirlwind vacation before heading to Forks for Jessica and Emmett's wedding. Her parents were busy planning the wedding. Jessica told them not to worry about the wedding gown, the bridesmaid dresses, or the tuxes because we would pick them up here. The guys and I were all feeding off of animals again. Jess wanted Angela in the wedding, but it just wasn't going to be possible because people would notice how different she looked. Besides, Carlisle tried her on animal blood and she just wasn't taking too well to it. She slipped after three days, feasting on a pastor that reminded her of her father. I know it's a little cruel, but we all found humor in that—especially, Angela.

We got back to our hotel room after dinner. Bella and I showered to wash off the grime from the city. Afterwards, we settled into bed so that we could read. I was reading 'The Complete Idiots Guide to Vampires' while Bella read 'Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef.' I shook my head and chuckled.

"Learn anything new about vampires in there?" she asked.

"Yeah, apparently, vampires can be divided into four main groups: spirit, monstrous, human, and alien."

"There's no category for sparkly?"

"Nope, we didn't make the cut."

"Damn, that must hit you straight in the gut."

"Yeah, it hurts that we're not recognized."

I took a good look at her. She was so beautiful. Breathtaking, really. I leaned over to kiss her, my hand brushing her breast. She wrapped her arms around my neck to deepen the kiss. Our clothes were soon shed and my lips traveled south to her delicious piece of heaven. I was desperate for a taste, and once I got there, hungry for more. She tasted like manna straight from above and I was just a lowly servant aching for more of her delicious fruit. I ran my tongue up to her breast and circled her nipples, while her fingers wrapped around my cock causing me to groan. Then she said the words that I've been waiting to hear from her lips for almost a year, "Jasper, I'm ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Oh great, now I'm nervous as all hell. I had no idea how I was going to do this. I've been with virgins before, but...heck...this particular virgin was different. This was Bella. My Bella. And I loved her with all my heart.

"Jasper, you're panicked. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just...don't laugh at me, but I'm afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?"

"I just want to do this right. I want it to be perfect. I..."

She kissed me on the lips, and I melted into her. My hands roamed her body savoring the feel of her buttery skin under my palms. Her lips brushed along my scars and I couldn't help but breathe her name, "Bella."

My fingers slid in between her thighs, she was so wet, so ready. I slipped a single finger into her, she gasped at the intrusion. As soon as she was comfortable, I added a second finger then moved to kiss her. Her arousal coated my fingers and soon I was licking it off each digit.

I hovered over her, and looked intently into her eyes, "This is going to hurt, baby."

"I know."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"I want to."

I nodded my head and positioned myself at her entrance. I didn't take my eyes off of her once as I slowly inched into her tight pussy. She winced in pain, but whispered for me to keep going with a look of determination. I felt every ridge, every crevice of her walls as I continued to make my way to her core.

"Ouch," she gasped in pain, as I broke through her barrier. A lone tear traveled down her cheek. I kissed it away.

"Shh...baby...you tell me when I can move, okay?"

She nodded her head, keeping her eyes locked on mine. I was pinned in my position above her, too afraid to move, too frightened to even take an unneeded breath; I didn't want to hurt her. After a few deep calming breaths, she gave me the okay to move. I slowly pushed in and out of her, and she eventually relaxed enough to wrap her legs around me, allowing me to build up to a steady rhythm. I kissed her full, wet lips and moved my thumb down to her clit, rubbing small circles on it.

"Mmm..." she moaned as her lust levels increased, sending me into a near frenzy. Her heart rate shot up and her breathing hitched as she reached her peak, her walls clenching down like a vise as she pulsated onto my cock. That did it, it sent me over the edge. I clasped her hands in each of mine and looked into her eyes, quickening my movements. It didn't take long at all for me to rasp her name and release my seed straight into her core.

Everything was going fine until I finally relaxed and it hit me. It was the scent of purity, the last of her virgin blood, trailing down her thighs. I bolted down between her legs and started inhaling, the scent, so raw and unbridled, went straight to my cock. I started lapping the small trail of blood up like a ravenous dog, thoroughly licking both thighs and her folds clean until her scent was replaced with mine. I looked deep into her eyes, she trusted me. How could she trust me? I was a bloodsucking monster. But no matter what kind of a monster I was, I was still her mate, and she was mine. Mine! The world should know who she belonged to.

With that thought in mind, before I knew it, I had sunk my teeth into that beautiful artery pulsating on her inner thigh and marked her. Her blood was like manna on my tongue, I couldn't stop. I...

"I love you, Jasper," my mate whispered. Her voice was enough to jolt me back to reality.

Realizing what I had done, I quickly removed my teeth and sucked my venom out of her wound, just like Edward had done in Phoenix. I had to remind myself that this was my mate and that I had to stay in control. I was able to stop after her blood was clean.

She was still conscious, and staring into my eyes with all the love, trust, and devotion that only my mate would have for me. With a swipe of my tongue, I sealed the wound on her thigh closed.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I...I..."

"It's okay," she rasped. "You're a vampire, I'm human. I have blood running through my veins, and apparently it's very fragrant blood."

"I know, but you're my mate, I should have had more control."

"You would have never killed me."

"But I marked you. I should have waited until you were changed to do that. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but thank God I remembered that Edward sucked James's venom out of your wrist in Phoenix, otherwise you would have been transforming into a vampire right now. How do you feel?"

"Fine, just a little tired."

"And weak because of the blood loss. I only took about a pint of blood, maybe a little more. That's how much the Red Cross would take if you were donating blood."

I grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand and put it to her lips. She drank slowly from it.

"Where are my cookies?" she asked.

"Cookies?" Odd. Why on earth would she ask about cookies?

"Um, yeah. The Red Cross usually gives blood donors cookies with their bottle of water. What kind of a rinky-dink operation are you running here?"

I shot out of bed and got dressed. "I'll be right back," I reassured her and ran out of the hotel.

I found a twenty-four hour Duane Reade and loaded my shopping basket up with all sorts of cookies. I caught sight of a DVD copy of True Blood, and it popped into my brain that Bill told Sookie to take Vitamin B12 to replenish her blood supply. Well shit, it can't hurt, can it? I went to the supplement aisle and grabbed a bottle of Vitamin B12 in the strongest potency and another bottle of water. I cashed out and ran back to our hotel room and announced, "Cookies!"

Bella started chuckling, then dove into some Oreos. She shoved one into my mouth saying that it was payback. I ingested it like a good mate.

I took out the bottle of Vitamin B12 and read the label. I opened it and handed one pill to her.

"What's this?"

"Vitamin B12. I figured if it works for Sookie, then it has to work for you. Besides, the True Blood vampires made the cut in 'The Complete Idiots Guide to Vampires.'"

She started giggling uncontrollably. "But you hate Bill. Why would you take his advice?"

"I know, but maybe he knew what he was doing in the case of blood loss. Plus he loves Sookie to the point of martyrdom. Just humor me, Bella."

"Alright." She took the vitamin and promptly washed it down with some water.

"Hey, Bella?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for being you."

"Always for you, Jasper."

XOXOXOXO

In the morning, we separated from the girls for a short period of time. Emmett, Peter, and I were getting fitted for tuxedos while the girls were on a mission to find a wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses. We weren't too far from each other. We were in the same building at some huge wedding emporium, just on different floors. Emmett, Peter, and I had given the girls their own credit cards attached to our individual accounts. All three of them took the cards after about an hour of convincing them over breakfast.

"God, I hate these monkey suits. How does this one look on me?" Emmett asked.

"You look like a fucking circus ringmaster," Peter noted.

"Maybe you should go with standard black, Em. I didn't even know they still made burgundy colored tuxedos," I said.

"I wanted to add a little color and a bit of pizzazz, you know."

"Em, you look like a fucking Vegas lounge singer, especially with that ruffled pink shirt underneath it."

"Or Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch," Pete added.

Emmett sighed, "What am I supposed to wear?"

"Standard black. Be glad that the girls aren't chiming in with their opinions. They've put their trust in us."

"Why?"

"I don't why. They trust us, just go with it, Em, because I doubt that Peter and I are going to be so lucky for our weddings. I mean, Bella wants Charlie walking her down the aisle and shit."

"That's why Jess and I are getting married so quickly. She wants her daddy walking her down the aisle. What about you, Pete?"

"Lauren wants to have a huge party style wedding in Vegas, but she wants Charlie to walk her down the aisle. She told me that he's been more like a father to her than her own father and she owes it to him to let him walk her down the aisle."

"Why couldn't our mates be like Angela? Carlisle is so lucky. He got to have a no fuss wedding. They just tied the knot and were done with it," I sighed.

"Yeah," we all mumbled as the salesman brought in more tuxedos for us to try on.

"Hey, so, Jasper, what the hell happened last night man? Did you really slip?" Emmett asked.

"Almost, I started drinking from her, then I stopped myself. How did you know?"

"Her blood smells different, man. She still smells mouthwatering, but there's a lot of you infused in there. You marked her."

"Yeah, I did."

"Then you went to the drugstore and bought Vitamin B12," Pete laughed.

"Hey, I figured it couldn't hurt."

"She'll be fine, I've been drinking from Lauren for almost a year now."

"You have?" Emmett and I both burst.

"Yeah, of course I have. She likes it too. I always drink from the same spot on her inner thigh."

"I'm too scared to try it, I might drain Jess."

"Same here."

"With Bella, I wouldn't recommend it for sure. Her blood is so fragrant it's intoxicating. You're lucky that you were able to stop. And now that her scent has mingled with yours, she smells even better."

"Are you saying that I smell tasty, Pete?"

"You smell like my mama's magnolia tree and coconut."

"That's what he smell's like!" Emmett snapped his fingers. "All these years I was wondering what flower Jasper smelled like, but I could never identify it. I got the coconut part, but I couldn't figure out the magnolia part. No wonder women fall at your feet and worship you."

"Yeah, well now Bella smells even more intoxicating so we're going to need to keep a closer eye on her. Edward will go ballistic if he catches her new scent and she's going to keep her new scent when you change her," Peter noted.

"Shit," Emmett and I groaned in realization that Peter was right.

The three of us finally picked out our tuxedos and got fitted for them. They would be ready for pick-up in forty-eight hours. Emmett didn't listen to my advice of going with my advice of going with standard black and we ended up in white tuxedos. Oh, well, it's his wedding.

We walked upstairs to the fifth floor and sat on a bench located outside of the bridal salon to wait for the girls.

"_I'm not going to look like a fucking ball of cotton candy, Jess!"_ Lauren yelled.

"_I like the blue, it's so pretty."_

"_I feel like Little Miss Muffet,"_ Bella commented.

"_It's my wedding!"_ Jess hollered.

"_Yeah, and it's our bodies. I'll show up naked before I have to wear this shit."_

"_Listen to me, you two. You've both bitched and moaned about every dress I've picked, it's either the blue, the red velvet, the mint green, or the pink one. And I prefer the pink one!"_

"_The pink one has Hello Kitty embroidered all over it, Jess," _Bella stated.

"_It's very unique, it's my favorite one."_

"Hello Kitty?" Pete mouthed to me and Emmett.

"_How come you've picked dresses that we have to wear hoops under?"_ Lauren asked.

"_I happen to like hoops. I'm a southern girl."_

"_Just to let you know, hoop skirts went out after the Civil War," _Bella pointed out.

"_So, what? My prom dress had a hoop skirt. My mother said that I looked like a southern belle."_

"_Yeah, you looked fucked up. The skirt was like ten miles wide," _Lauren said.

"_Well, I don't appreciate this at all. Furthermore, I'm picking the bridesmaids gowns since you two are being bitchy about it."_

"_Go for it, it's your wedding. We'll get over it. It's only a few hours anyway,"_ Bella sighed.

"_Yay! I want the white Hello Kitty wedding gown with the matching pink bridesmaid dresses,"_ she told the saleslady.

"_Of course, ma'am, and they happen to be on clearance, too." _ Then we heard her whispering to another saleslady, _"We're finally getting rid of those atrocious gowns. Thank fuck!"_

"_Don't worry, Bella. I'll get her back at my wedding," _Lauren muttered.

"Emmett, man. Your woman has serious issues if she's going with Hello Kitty," I said.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to think the same thing myself. Maybe I should have gone with the Huggy Bear tux instead of the white? It had the pink ruffled shirt with it."

"On second thought, Emmett, she's perfect for you."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled.

**Alice's POV**

"Eddie Pooh!" I called.

"Yes, love?"

"I think I know how we can get you Isabella's blood."

"How?"

"Well, I was surfing the internet and I came across a couple of interesting tidbits of information. One, it appears that Police Chief Charles Swan was tragically killed in a car accident while on vacation with his wife Patricia in Twin Falls, Idaho. That means that Isabella will most likely be staying alone in her father's house in Forks. And the second is a wedding announcement for one Jessica Stanley. She's to be married in five days to Emmett McCarty. I'm positive that Isabella will be there. They seemed to be close friends."

"She's marrying Emmett? Shouldn't he be brooding over Rosalie?"

"Edward, you know how cold-hearted Emmett is. We shouldn't tell Rosalie or Esme about Jessica and Emmett's impending marriage. It'll hurt them that Emmett has the nerve to just up and marry some other woman. Besides, they can't know about our plans with Isabella, they'd never understand. Anyway, it doesn't matter though, Jessica Stanley is not our goal, Isabella Swan is."

"That's very true and I think you're right, my love. Isabella will be at Jessica Stanley's wedding. Just for that, we can go shopping again. How are our finances coming along?"

"Oh, excellent. That trip to Las Vegas last year earned us what we needed at the casinos so I could build up our savings. Another trip there wouldn't hurt, though."

"Do we have enough time to go there before going to Forks?"

"Absolutely, and I foresee that we'll earn a few million dollars playing blackjack and poker at the Venetian Hotel."

"Wonderful, love. Now why don't you remove your clothes so that we can celebrate with some copulation?"

"Oh, Edward, I love when we make love. You know that I'll do anything for you, my mate."

And I would, too. Edward was my eternal love and if having Isabella's blood made him happy, then I would get it for him. Too bad my visions weren't working properly when it comes to her. I would have gotten her blood much sooner if they were.

"Alice, please don't leave your blouse laying on the chair like that. Hang it up properly, we don't want it to wrinkle while we engage in our copulation. And fold your undergarments as well. I'll be waiting under the covers for you," Edward reminded me as he turned the lights out.

My mate was so considerate. He was nothing like that neanderthal, Jasper, that I was married to at one point. I'm so happy that he's no longer in my life. I knew when I gave him the divorce papers that he would take his money with him, but I had to try anyway. I wasted so many years waiting for Edward to realize that we were mates and allowing Jasper to enjoy my body that I figured that he owed me some financial compensation. In any case, the money didn't matter, I was fully aware that I could make money using my visions, and Esme, Rose, Edward, and I have been making millions at the casinos.

I really wanted to get Isabella's blood for Edward because it was something that he desired desperately. And whatever Edward wanted, I would get him. It was my duty as his mate to please him.

**Alice is pretty obsessed with pleasing Eddie Pooh, isn't he...I mean, she? *ahem* Um, and would you want to copulate with a man telling you to hang up your clothes, that is obsessed with another woman's blood? Did you like the proposals? Which one was your favorite? What did you think of Jasper's little slip and Peter's revelation that he's been drinking from Lauren all along? Hello Kitty wedding and bridesmaid dresses? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter and I shall reply to your review. XOXO mama4dukes**

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my readers who nominated and voted for Life Happens, So Just Roll With It in the Jasper's Darlins Everything's Bigger In Texas Awards. The story won in several categories, including: Best Southern Charm, Best Vamp Jasper, Best Jasper Quote, I Dream of Bella, Best AU Jasper Fic, Best Original Storyline, Best WTF Moment, and Best Overall Jasper Fic. I am truly stunned and overwhelmed by the win, and I am grateful to all of my fabulous readers. I dedicate the awards to all of you. Thank you again. XOXO mama4dukes**


	9. Chapter 9

**Our good friend 'the flu' was visiting our family over the last couple of weeks, hence the delay in getting this chapter posted. Thank you for your patience and for your reviews and messages. We'll begin this chapter with some bonding time between Bella and Jessica.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only.**

_**Four days later...**_

**Bella's POV**

"I can't believe I'm getting married tomorrow," Jessica said as we walked along the street in Port Angeles.

"I can, you're completely head over heels in love with Emmett and he's the same way with you," I said.

"You could say the same thing about you and Jasper, you know."

"I know. I never thought that I'd fall so hard for a man. I love him because he's perfectly imperfect."

"Bella, I'm afraid. I'm so afraid of becoming a vampire and never seeing my parents again. You and Lauren are lucky, you have your dad and her mom, but I'm going to be all alone."

"Have you talked to Emmett about it?"

"That's the thing, I don't want to hurt his feelings. I do want to be changed, but it's knowing that my parents are going to have to think that I'm dead that's killing me."

"You have so many valid reasons to be afraid. I have to confess that before Daddy was changed, I had the exact same fears as you did. I was lucky that he ended up being changed, that took care of some of my fears, but I'm afraid of what I'd be giving up for the sake of love. Is it selfish of me? I'm not so sure."

"Lauren said that you and I think too much. Do you think she's right about that?"

"Probably, but from our point of view, we could say that Lauren doesn't think enough. You know how she flies by the seat of her pants?"

"True," she chuckled. "I wonder what she's doing now?"

It was just me and her, we had just come from the nail salon where we both got mani-pedis in preparation for Jess's wedding. Lauren had opted out wanting to spend some time alone with Peter. She was phenomenal at doing her own nails anyway. Her mom had taught her how. She usually does our nails, but Jess and I wanted a little pampering at the nail salon.

"She's having wild sex with Peter and doing all sorts of kinky things. Lauren's a simple woman with very basic needs."

"So true, those two have sex more than all of us combined. Although Angela told me that now that she's a vampire, her sex drive seems to be completely in overdrive. But then again, Carlisle is super hot. I had to go to the ER at Fork's General in the middle of the night to get my appendix out the year before you moved to Forks and I thought that I was going to have an orgasm as soon as I took a look at him, and that's while I was in abject misery with abdominal pain."

"He is hot. I remember the first time he worked on me, I got all googly eyed and couldn't form a coherent sentence."

"Here's something that'll make you laugh, Bells. My mom came into see me while I was in the hospital after I got my appendix out and Carlisle was checking my vitals when she arrived. Anyway, she brought flowers for me, but one look at Carlisle and she was handing the entire arrangement over to him and saying, 'Oh, these are for you. Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter.' I was so embarrassed, I thought that I was gonna die."

We both started chuckling. Jessica was so lucky that she had a mother who cared about her enough to visit her in the hospital. Whenever I was in the hospital for an injury, my mother would show up only to pick me up at discharge time and then huff and puff because she was annoyed that I screwed up her schedule. Daddy was different though, he'd show up several times in one day, completely worried and at discharge time, he'd ask about a hundred questions until he was sure he knew how to take care of me.

"Bells, I could really use a bite to eat," Jessica said.

"Why don't we just pop into Gordy's and grab a slice of pizza?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I could actually go for pizza. Maybe we should just order a small pepperoni and split it?"

"You're right, we both always go back for a second slice."

We crossed the street and started making our way towards Gordy's when we were suddenly snatched by two men and dragged into a deserted alley where we were handed off to ice cold hands.

"Thank you, boys," Alice's voice chimed and I saw her handing each of them a few hundred dollar bills.

"Glad to be of service," one of them said as he pocketed the cash greedily. They both disappeared after that.

"What the fuck do you two want?" I snapped at Alice and Edward.

"Oh, we just wanted to talk to you," Alice said.

"Well, talk!"

Jessica was freaking out next to me, her composure completely at a loss. Edward had us both slammed up against the wall of a building, a restraining hand on each of us. I don't know what he did next because Jessica slid to the ground, unconscious. I could tell that she was still breathing, though.

Edward inhaled a deep breath through his nose. I watched as his face took on a vicious expression.

"You've been defiled. You gave yourself to someone else," he growled.

I didn't say anything in response. It was taking everything that I had in me to keep it together.

"Alice, did you see anything?"

"No, Edward. I swear that I didn't!"

"Who touched you? Who did you give your body to?"

_Keep it together, Bella. Don't say a word. _

"I asked you a question, Isabella. Who touched you?"

I fixed Edward with a glare, determined not to say anything.

"So, you want to play this game, do you? You'll soon learn the meaning of the word respect as you're begging me for mercy."

I looked up and saw Alice's eyes go dark with lust at Edward's show of twisted dominance. "Alice, remove her clothing and fold them neatly at the creases," he ordered.

Huh? Okay, now I know I shouldn't be thinking about this, especially when my life is hanging in the balance, but if I had Edward's strength and I were going to rape someone, I would just rip my victims jeans off.

In no time, Alice had removed my jeans and panties and folded them neatly and placed them to the side. Edward took the opportunity to take his slacks and underwear off. He handed them off to Alice who folded everything for him. Meanwhile, I decided that now was a good time to scream for help.

"Help! Rape!" I yelled.

I was knocked to the ground on my back, my legs spread wide. Edward stared hungrily at me, licking his lips; then he burst out in rage, "You've been marked. Who marked you, Isabella? Who marked what's rightfully mine?"

"Go fuck yourself," I seethed between gritted teeth. I refused to let him take a piece of dignity without a fight. He was hovering over me, ready to enter, when he was suddenly ripped away from me and thrown up against the wall.

I looked up to see Jasper glaring maliciously at the sight in front of him and the two cretins, he was warring with himself, deciding on whether or not he should go after Edward or help me. Edward being a quick thinker, took the opportunity to throw Alice onto his back, hop on the trash bin, jump on top of the building and run. I saw a feral Peter take off after the two of them while Emmett went to Jessica.

"Go! Go kill him!" I ordered my mate. With a determined look, he took off running. Emmett pulled me into his strong arms and held both me and his unconscious mate where I finally broke down and cried. He dressed me gently, whispering that it was over and that he, Jasper, Peter, and Carlisle would always protect me. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I was in bed wrapped in Jasper's arms.

"Jasper," I whispered. "Did you get him?"

"No, he was too quick for us. He's going to die, though. We'll get him."

"Where's Jess?"

"She's fine, he rendered her unconscious by applying pressure on her suprascapular nerve. She has a bruise where he restrained her too, but not as many bruises as you do. Carlisle is here, he wants to take a look at you."

"Okay," I said.

A minute later, Carlisle was in the room examining me under Jasper's watchful eyes. He asked me what happened so I gave him a step by step recount of the events that transpired.

"So, he didn't penetrate you?"

"No, he was angry about my being marked, though."

Carlisle let out a sigh of relief and pulled me into a hug. "I'm just glad you're okay."

As soon as he said that, a sight for sore eyes came bursting into the room, it was my father.

"Charlie, I thought we agreed that you were going to stay at home?" Carlisle questioned.

"Um, no, you agreed, not me. Baby girl, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Daddy. Jasper, Emmett, and Peter came just in time."

My vampire father drew me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. Lauren came bolting into the room and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, I missed you girls. Where's Jess?"

"She's at her parents' house. Emmett took her home as soon as she regained consciousness," Jasper explained.

"Poor kid, she didn't need to be attacked on the day before her wedding," my father noted. "How's my Bella doing, Carlisle?"

"Aside from a few bruises, she's fine. I'm more worried about her emotional state."

After that, my father fired off question after question to Carlisle regarding my care and my well being. It was clear that he was completely unhinged by my attack and worried about me.

Later, we were sitting in the living room talking.

"What are we going to do about Edward and Alice?" my father asked.

"We'll deal with them, but it has to be after the girls are changed," Peter said.

"Didn't I tell you to change Bella as soon as possible?" my father asked. "Instead of taking my advice, you guys chose to go lolly gagging around Europe. I can't fucking believe that you all have college degrees. You're all idiots, if you want my opinion!"

"Well, excuse us for wanting to get a few more human experiences in," I muttered.

"Human experiences, human experiences, what's the fucking point of having any human experiences if you're dead, Bella?"

"Technically, you're dead," Lauren pointed out.

"I'm walking and talking, aren't I?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm a living being. Just cause my heart doesn't beat anymore doesn't make me dead."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door which sent all of the guys on high alert. Lauren and I were immediately sent to a safe room upstairs, but being the insatiably curious girls that we were, we eavesdropped from the top of the staircase where we were out of sight, but not out of scent.

"_How can we help you gentlemen?"_ Peter asked as he opened the door.

"_We're here to enforce the...Charlie?"_

"_Oh, hello boys. What brings you to my house?"_

"_You're supposed to be dead. We were at your funeral."_

"_Oh, man, I really don't want to go through this spiel again. I'm still walking and talking, ergo I am not dead even though my heart is no longer beating," _my father replied.

"_We'll have to discuss this with the council, it's clear that Carlisle Cullen broke the treaty. Look at his red eyes."_

"_Oh, get the fuck over it, Jacob. I've known you since you were in the cradle. This treaty that you have formed is all fucked up."_

"_It's been in existence since...what are you doing?"_

"_I'm calling your father, that's what I'm doing."_

"_But..."_

"_Shut up and sit down boys! All of you!"_

Lauren and I looked at each other perplexedly, then one of them suddenly said, "You have humans in this house. You're holding them hostage. I smell them."

"_Now, why the hell would I be holding my daughters hostage?"_ my father asked. _"Bella, Lauren, get the fuck down here!"_

We shrugged our shoulders and walked downstairs.

"Yes, Daddy?" Lauren asked, sitting on his lap and planting a kiss on his cheek. She was a pro at hamming things up.

The six men stared aghast at us. "Hi, Jake," I said.

"Oh, hey, Bells. How are things?"

"Good, I just graduated from college."

"That's great."

"I heard you're a father now."

"Yeah, um...my daughter just turned two."

"Wow," I said.

"Hey, Lauren," one of my sister's former fuck buddies greeted.

"Hi, Paul. You're looking good," she said. "Ooh, Quil, you're here, too."

Okay, I don't know this Quil person, but apparently Lauren does. She used to party with the reservation boys.

I decided to introduce myself. "Um, my name is Bella Swan. I'm Charlie's daughter. I've known Jake since we were babies."

There was a smattering of introductions while my father went outside to place a call. He came back inside. "Wait here, Harry and Billy will be here."

"Um, would you like something to drink?" I asked the guys.

"Sure," the guy named Quil said.

"Okay, we have soda, milk, juice, lemonade, beer, water."

"Beer would be great."

I went to the fridge and got out a few beers and handed everyone a bottle each. They just cracked it open and downed it. I heard some stomachs growling so I dragged Lauren to the kitchen, made a few sandwiches, and put a huge plate out for them. The food was gone in a minute flat. In complete shock, I retreated back to the kitchen to cook up spaghetti. Lauren was no help whatsoever, she was casually chatting to Paul and the guy named Quil while Pete became increasingly agitated. Quite frankly, he's been agitated since we've arrived in Forks because Lauren has a history with a lot of guys.

Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on our door and Billy Black and Harry Clearwater walked inside.

"Charlie, why the fuck are you a vampire?" Harry asked. "I went to your funeral. I mourned for you. I thought you were dead."

"Why the hell does everyone keep saying I'm dead?"

"Hello, Bella," Billy greeted.

"Hi, Billy. I just finished making spaghetti for our guests. Would you like some?"

"Are you kidding me? Rachel's been cooking, of course I would."

I chuckled and served some food out to everyone.

We sat around the living room so we humans could talk while eating. My father explained his change and told Billy and Harry that in no way should Carlisle be held responsible for anything. Then they discussed some sort of a treaty. Lauren and I listened with curiosity.

Finally, having had enough, I busted into the conversation, "I want answers now! First of all, I want to know why you all know about vampires. Second, I want to know what the hell this treaty is all about."

"Bella, remember when you first moved to Forks and we walked along the beach in La Push?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything. Do you remember the story I told you?"

I thought back to that day so long ago. It was one of the very few times that I had seen Jacob since I moved in with my father.

"Do you mean the story of the Cold Ones and the Quileutes being descended from wolves?"

"That would be the one."

My eyes widened at that point. "Oh my God! You guys are werewolves," I said, in realization.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. I fucked two werewolves," Lauren blathered. "Oh, fuck me! Bella, is there a full moon out tonight because if so, we're fucking hauling ass out of Forks until the sun comes up."

"Okay, you're weird, Lauren. You're not afraid of bloodsuckers, but you're afraid of wolves?" Paul asked.

"Show some fucking respect! They're vampires," I snapped.

He put his hands up. "Jesus, you are Chief Swan's daughter."

"Damn straight," my father said proudly.

"Okay, girls, these boys are not the werewolves, they're shape-shifters that change into wolves. They are protectors of the Quileute Reservation and preservers of human life," Billy explained. "You have no reason to be frightened of them. You have more of a reason to be frightened of these vampires."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because vampires take away human life."

"Yeah, well, there are scummy vampires out there, but there are also good ones. Besides, who said that my father is dead? Have you noticed a change in his personality because I sure as hell haven't?"

"No, I suppose not."

"With all due respect, Mr. Black, I don't want to sit here and hash out whether vampires or wolves are more dangerous. My mate's life is in danger and we need to rework the treaty. There are four that need to be written out of the treaty and some that need to be written in," Jasper stated.

"Who is your mate?" Billy asked.

"It's Bella, sir."

"Why is her life in danger?" he asked, concerned.

My father went on to explain what happened to me and Jessica earlier in the day. He also went on to explain about Edward's obsession with my blood and how he asked Carlisle to change him for my sake. "Let me ask you this, Billy? If you were in my shoes and it was Rachel or Rebecca's lives at stake, would you ask to be changed?"

"I would," Harry said. "I would gladly give my life up for Leah without any hesitation whatsoever. I think we need to rework the treaty. Clearly, these vampires mean no harm and they've never willingly harmed a human."

"I agree," Jacob said. "If it were my daughter whose life was in danger, I would die for her."

Many of the wolves, who were apparently fathers, agreed.

"Then we rework the treaty," Billy said. "Um, and I'd like to include some of the fishing areas as well. You still fish, don't you, Charlie?"

"Of course I do. I've actually gone fishing a few times with Carlisle, Laurent, and Garrett. I can tell you that Laurent will give you a run for your money, Billy."

With that, the treaty was reworked. My father actually was key in negotiating the terms. Lauren's, Jessica's, and my changes were also worked in. The wolves at first protested our changes vehemently, but after it was explained that we were, in fact mated to vampires, they relented because apparently wolves also have mates, called imprints. In exchange, we agreed to come to Forks to assist if they ever ran into some sort of vampire trouble. Alice, Edward, Esme, and Rosalie were written out of the treaty while Angela, Charlotte, Garrett, Victoria, Laurent, my father, Pat, Peter, Lauren, Jessica, and I were written into it. Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett were already in the treaty. The other non-negotiable part of the treaty was that we'd have to feed from animals while we were residing in Forks.

The wolves, Billy, and Harry left around midnight. They even offered to provide protection for Jessica and Emmett's wedding. Their offer was accepted gratefully.

After that, Lauren and I headed for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**Jessica's POV**

"Jessie," my mom said. "I'm so happy for you. Emmett's such a wonderful young man."

"He is. I love him."

"I know you do, and he loves you. It's obvious by the way he dotes on you."

"Yeah, he is sweet."

"Oh, Jessie, my girl is all grown up now. I'm going to miss you so much when you move to Australia."

I simply nodded. I hated to lie to my mother. I truly did, but it was a necessary evil because we'd be faking my death soon, and the further away we were, the easier it would be. Oh God, I don't know if I can do this, today is the last day that I'm going to see my mother and my father. How could I do this to them, I'm so selfish. Here I am in love with Emmett and willing to give up my life for him without giving one thought whatsoever to my parents who have loved, nurtured, and raised me from the time I was in the womb. I started crying. My mother held me in her arms.

"Shh...shh...Jessie, don't cry. This is your wedding day, it's a happy day."

"I can't help it, Mom, I just feel like I'm never going to see you and Daddy again."

"Sweetheart, it's just a case of the nerves. I felt the same way when I married Daddy. You're leaving the nest for real this time and that's not an easy thing. I'm going to tell you the same thing that Grandma told me on my wedding day, Jess."

"What was that?"

"No matter how far you are from me, I will always be your mother." She put her hand on my heart. "I will live right here." She took my hand and placed it on her heart. "Just like you will always live in my heart."

"Oh, Mommy, I love you so much!"

"And I love you, Jessica. Now, let's finish getting ready. I'm going to call Bella and Lauren upstairs. They're here with your wedding gown and the bridesmaid dresses. I can't wait to see the dresses you picked out!"

My mother called Bella and Lauren. They came up to my room carrying the gowns and Lauren was armed with her huge toolbox filled with makeup and hairstyling equipment. Lauren was a whiz and doing hair and makeup having grown up alongside her mother.

Bella laid the gowns down on the bed and opened up her arms to me with a huge smile on her face. I tumbled into her arms and she gave me a big hug. A hug that was warm, powerful, and filled with love. A hug that told me that, no matter what, she would always be by my side. Lauren soon joined her. And it was at that moment, I realized that I was a lucky girl. I wasn't losing everyone and everything that I love, going into this new life, my sisters were coming with me. And with them, I could get through anything. I was ready.

_**Three hours later...**_

I was ready and waiting for my father to walk me down the aisle of the church. Bella and Lauren went to go look for him and I was alone. My parents suddenly walked inside and gave me a hug.

"You look like a southern belle, Jess," my father said. "Though I'm not sure where the cat comes in."

"Oh, stop, honey," my mother chastised. "Jess has always been a Hello Kitty fan. I didn't realize that she was quite so obsessed, but this is her wedding."

"Anyway, we have some things for you." My father handed me a small gift bag. "Open it."

I opened the gift bag and dug out a light blue garter belt.

"That's your something blue," my mother said. "It was mine from my wedding, so it can double as your something borrowed, too."

"Thanks, Mom."

I fished out another gift. It was a simple gold cross. "That is your something old," my father said. "It belonged to my grandmother, and now it's yours."

"Daddy, are you sure? It's a family heirloom."

"Of course I'm sure, Jess. She wanted me to give it to you on your wedding day. Now there's one more thing in the bag, it's your something new. I hope you like it."

I pulled a box out and opened it. Inside was a gorgeous diamond bracelet with ruby stones placed sporadically throughout.

"Oh my God! This must have cost a fortune," I whispered.

"Sweetheart, it ain't everyday that your little girl gets married and on top of that, to a stand up guy that her daddy actually likes. You're worth it, Jess. You're our everything."

"I love you," I gushed to both of them and hugged them both tightly.

"And we love you," my father said.

"Well, I'm going to go take my seat. Bella and Lauren are here." My mother left the room as my two best friends walked inside. I really wished that Angela could be here too, but it simply wasn't possible. Charlie and Carlisle were watching the proceedings from a distance, I found out. That really warmed my heart.

"You look gorgeous, Jess," Lauren said, handing me my bouquet.

"Hey, no crying, sweetie. We're right here with you," Bella soothed as she dabbed at my tears. "Now take a deep breath. Your man is waiting for you."

"I love you, Bells, Lauren."

"Aww...now look, stop getting all mushy. You know we love you, even if you made us wear hoops and Hello Kitty bridesmaid dresses."

"I love you, too, Jess," Bella said simply. She gave me a hug, then we all started our walk down the aisle.

When my father handed me over to Emmett and I saw his breathtaking smile as he took my hands in his, I knew without a doubt that I had made the right decision in choosing to be with my mate. I, Jessica Stanley McCarty would be loved for eternity.

**Jessica has some reservations about being turned. Do you think her reasons are valid? What did you think of Edward and Alice's little visit? How about the surprise visit from Charlie? Are you happy the pack is being accepting about the situation? I would say it has a lot to do with Charlie, wouldn't you? Let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'll always respond to your reviews. XOXO mama4dukes**

**I've posted a Paul/Bella oneshot called Stepping Aside For Love. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story.**


	10. Chapter 10

_****_**Thank you ****for your fabulous reviews and messages. The girls will be teaching the boys a lesson on spending wisely and "change" is on the horizon.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

_**The next day...**_

**Peter's POV**

We were at a car dealership in Port Angeles. Charlie and Carlisle were out fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. With Charlie and Carlisle driving home with us tomorrow, we needed to pick up a big enough vehicle to carry all of us on our drive back to Arizona. Sure, we could have flown, but Jessica had way too many 'mementos from home' that she was taking along with her. She and Emmett were driving her car down, but the rest of us needed a car to follow them in.

I decided to purchase a Chevy Suburban for the drive down, it would seat all of us, and I needed a second vehicle for Lauren anyway. We got to the dealership and test drove a couple of Suburbans. I chose a fully loaded Chevy Suburban with all the bells and whistles that could be imagined. I wrote a check for the price that the salesman quoted, which I already knew, because it was exact price listed on the sticker when Bella abruptly took the check and ripped it in half. That's when Jasper, Emmett, and I noticed that Bella, Jess, and Lauren were staring fiercely into the eyes of the salesman.

"You crook!" Bella seethed at the salesman. "You didn't even bother offering him a deal!"

"Now, sweetheart, I'm just quoting him the real price. It's on the sticker."

"Don't you patronize me. I know a thing or two about purchasing cars and the first rule is to never pay sticker price."

"Bella, it's no big deal, it's only fifty-nine thousand dollars."

"Only fifty-nine thousand dollars?" Lauren questioned incredulously. "Do you realize, Peter, that fifty-nine thousand dollars is more than what most people make in a year? It's not something that you just throw away. And now that this dumb-fuck knows that fifty-nine thousand dollars is no skin off your back, he's not going to bother giving you any sort of deal! Hand over your checkbook to me."

"Um, honey, I..."

"NOW!" she roared. I gave her my checkbook immediately, then she lectured me on the value of money with Bella and Jess backing her up with examples. The salesperson kept at his hard sell, though.

"Turn around boys and walk out of the dealership right this second," Jess stated firmly.

"But we need..."

"Walk out of here now," she continued.

Dejected, Jasper, Emmett, and I walked out of the dealership with the girls following us and the salesperson right at my side.

"Don't listen to these women. They don't know what they're talking about," he said.

"Mister, if you hadn't already lost the sale, you just completely lost it with the way you just minified us," Bella stated venomously.

"Bitch," the salesman whispered under his breath.

"What the fuck did you just call my fiance?" Jasper growled then sent him a fuckton of fear that left him shivering in the fetal position in the car lot.

"Well, now what are we supposed to do?" I asked when we got into Jess's father's Tahoe which he was letting us borrow.

"You're going to drive to the Ford Dealership on Front Street. The three of you are going to wait in the vehicle while the three of us go and negotiate a deal on a Ford Expedition," Bella stated. "We will call you when it's time for you to sign for the vehicle."

"Wait? But what if I don't like the Expedition? Shouldn't I test drive it?"

"Good point. Alright, then drop us off at the pizza shop a block away. You test drive a couple and come back and tell us if you like it. Do not, under any circumstance, indicate to the salesperson that you're interested in the vehicle. Oh, and hand over all forms of payment in your wallets to me now."

"Wait! Why? I already gave Lauren my checkbook."

"Because you three have proven yourselves irresponsible, that's why."

"Oh, and don't ask the salesperson how much he wants for the vehicle," Jessica warned.

"No matter how tempting it is, walk away," Lauren warned.

"Got it!" I said and started walking out of the door with Jasper and Emmett.

"Hey! Everything but your driver's licenses in my purse now!" Bella reminded us.

"Fine!"

Reluctantly the three of us handed everything but our driver's licenses over to Bella who stored them in her purse for safekeeping.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked.

"I don't know, I think my balls just fell into Bella's purse," Jasper chuckled.

"Yeah, no shit, mine too."

We approached the Ford dealership and I saw Jasper's and Emmett's faces light up as soon as they saw the salesman. It was Lauren's ex-boyfriend, Tyler Crowley, from high school.

"He'll give us a good deal, we know him," Emmett said.

I test drove a couple of Ford Expeditions and ended up settling on a fully loaded, King Ranch version.

"So, are we ready to make a deal?" Tyler asked.

"Hell, yeah. This is a great ride," I said. "So, how much are you asking for this?"

"Well, the sticker price is fifty-seven thousand, but I'll cut you a deal and take two hundred off of it since I'm friends with Jasper and Emmett. Are you ready to fill out the paperwork?"

"Two hundred off? What do you guys think?" I asked Jasper and Emmett.

"Sounds like a good deal to me," Emmett said.

"Yep," Jasper agreed.

"Alright, we'll take it. Let me just go to my vehicle and get my checkbook."

"I'll get started on the paperwork," Tyler said happily.

Jasper, Emmett, and I rushed into the pizza shop with smiles on our faces.

"Well, did you test drive the Expedition?" Bella asked.

"Yep," I said.

"And did you like it?"

"Sure did, plus we got a great deal!"

"What do you mean by you got a great deal?"

"Since Emmett and I went to school with Tyler he gave us two hundred dollars off of the sticker price," Jasper informed his mate.

"Oh, two hundred dollars off. How generous," Bella said sarcastically and rolled her eyes at us.

"Did you say, Tyler, as in my ex from high school, Tyler Crowley?" Lauren questioned.

"Yeah, and you know what, baby? He's not such a bad guy, he offered us a discount right off the bat."

"What was the sticker price?"

"Fifty-seven thousand."

"Oh, and he's taking two hundred off?"

"Yep, and he's doing the paperwork now so I need the checkbook."

Lauren smiled, reached into her purse and grabbed her...makeup bag? She quickly started touching up her face, then worked on Bella and Jess.

"Um, honey, I need the checkbook," I said to Lauren.

"Fuck, no."

"Honey, you're being..."

"I'm being what?" My mate had her hands on her hips and I swear she looked ready to bite my head off. In fact all three of them did.

"You three go and sit in my dad's Tahoe and don't move until we call you," Jess ordered.

"Wait, why?"

"Because you three can't follow simple instructions. We told you to test drive the Expedition and return here without making any sort of deal."

"Yeah, but he gave us a discount."

"Um, yeah, two hundred dollars off of fifty-seven thousand is about three tenth of one percent off, Pete," Bella informed me. "You three sit your asses down in the vehicle while we remedy the situation."

"And just how do intend on doing that?"

"We have our ways. Had you just test driven the vehicle and came straight back to us like we told you to, we wouldn't have to use extreme measures to obtain a discount, but you've brought this onto yourselves!" Lauren snapped with her hands on her hips.

Jess held the door to her father's Tahoe open for us. "Get inside!" she ordered.

The three of us immediately obeyed and got in the vehicle. Our three ferocious human mates glared at us, shook their heads, and walked towards the dealership, grumbling about us being clueless, and how if Angela were here, she'd rip us a new one.

"What the hell was that? I thought we did good," Jasper commented.

"Hey, are your balls still attached because I'm pretty sure mine have receded," Emmett noted while staring down at his crotch.

I looked down between my legs too, they were still there, but I'm pretty sure that they're filled with cotton.

"We're not really going to sit in here, are we?" Jasper asked.

"Hell, no. We're men! We can't have women telling us what to do! We're going to watch them from a distance," I decided.

"Yeah, stealth. Like spies."

"We'll be like James Bond," Emmett agreed with Jasper.

We got out of the Tahoe and walked towards the dealership. We crouched behind a car and observed our women from a distance. They were just at the entrance of the dealership. I saw Lauren undoing three of her top buttons and applying lipstick on her delicious lips and smacking them together. She ordered Bella and Jess to do the same.

"_Okay, ladies, we're doing a three pronged assault. Bella, you're the informed consumer, Jess and I will do the distracting just like we did when we bought Jess's car two years ago."_

"_Got it!"_ Bella did a fist pump and the other two joined her in a show of solidarity.

"_Let's do this,"_ Jess stated with conviction.

They walked inside.

"_Hi, Tyler,"_ Bella said. We noticed Jess and Lauren were hanging out in the showroom. _"I heard that Peter was in here looking at an Expedition, can I see it?"_

"_Um, where's Peter?"_ he asked.

"_He'll be around."_

"_Listen, I'm busy doing some paperwork."_

"_Tyler, let me get straight to the point. You offered him a two hundred dollar discount off of fifty-seven thousand dollars, that works out to roughly three tenths of one percent off of the total purchase price."_

"_Yeah, so, it's a good deal."_

"_I don't think so," _Bella said. _"I know for a fact that oversized SUV's like the Expedition aren't selling well because of poor fuel economy and inflated gas prices. In fact, I believe that sales of the Expedition have gone down by over two hundred thousand units in the span of ten years."_

"Where the hell does she get this info, Jasper?"

"Dunno."

"_Um, I don't know...um...I was still in high school ten years ago."_

"_Yes, I'm aware of that, I was in high school with you. However, as a salesperson, this type of information is something that you should know. Now, since these vehicles aren't selling that well, the manufacturer, in this case Ford Motor Company, should have a few incentives available to entice customers into purchasing them."_

Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his seat. _"Bella, I'm really busy right now. Peter's coming back and..."_

"_Bella," _Lauren interrupted Tyler. _"Would you hold Pete's checkbook for me? It's really weighing down my purse."_

"_Sure, no problem. I'll keep it safe for him." _

Tyler gasped at the knowledge that Bella had hold of my checkbook, then looked up and noticed my mate and her low cut blouse.

"_Oh my God, Ty!"_ Lauren gushed and gave him a hug. _ "It's been so long!"_

Tyler's eyes shot straight to my mate's tits. _"Hi, Lauren."_

"_So, can you show me the Expedition that Pete wants to buy?"_

"_Sure, it's parked right in front of the showroom." _He practically shoved Bella out of the way to get to Lauren.

Bella and Lauren walked out of the showroom and to the Expedition. Bella got in the driver's seat while Lauren ran her hands over the hood.

"_Ooh! This is nice,"_ she said, stroking the paint job as if it were my chest. She hopped onto the hood and leaned back, spreading her legs wide with her hands stroking her thighs. _"Oh, the hood is nice and roomy too. Oh, it'll be perfect for...mmm...yes..."_

Now she was crawling on all fours on the hood and had her eyes trained on Tyler. He was practically panting as he hungrily eyed my mate. I was sprawled on my stomach on the ground with Emmett sitting on me so that I couldn't stop her. What the hell is my mate doing?

Bella honked the horn of the Expedition and Lauren slithered off of the hood. Meanwhile, Jess had come outside and she was adjusting her tits in the passenger side mirror. Tyler's eyes zoomed straight to her. In fact, at this point, the entire sales team was watching the proceedings as Jess maneuvered and jiggled her ample tits in front of the mirror.

Next, Jess hopped into the second row seats of the Tahoe. _"Ooh! This is roomy enough for me and Emmett to have fun in." _She started crawling all over the seat and rubbing her hands all over her body. Then she started making like she was riding Emmett in the backseat. The entire male sales team plus a few customers were mesmerized by the free show. Now Jasper and I were sitting on Emmett who was trying to run to Jess.

"_Ahem!"_ Bella got out of the vehicle. _"Everything seems to be in order but the price. I'd like to know what the current rebates and incentives that Ford Motor Company has going for the Expedition. If you can't tell me, Tyler. I'm sure your sales manager will. It is, after all, against the law to not disclose all available offers from the manufacturer. Any lawyer can tell you that."_

"She's right," I said after thinking.

As soon as the word lawyer fell from her lips, a man came out and said, _"Ma'am, my name is Larry Cheatum. I'm the sales manager here. I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Mr. Crowley. I'm sure that he just overlooked the fact that the current offer for cash buyers of any full-size truck or SUV is a forty-five hundred dollar instant manufacturer rebate."_

"_Hmm...forty-five hundred dollars off works out to seven percent. Is that the best you can do?"_

"_That's a significant amount, ma'am."_

"_Sounds insignificant to me. Your dealership isn't actually taking anything off of the purchase price, Ford Motor Company is. Lauren, Jess, let's go. The Chevy Dealership down the road is offering a better deal on their Suburbans."_

The three girls turned their backs and started to walk out. _"But...wait! Let's talk about this. I'm sure that we can come up with a figure that would meet with your satisfaction."_

"_I'm not too sure. So far, your dealership has been less than forthcoming with your offers."_

"_We'll throw in all weather floor mats. They're worth seventy-five dollars."_

"_Seventy-five dollar floor mats?" _ Bella shook her head. _ "If that's all you're willing to do for us, then no, thank you. You know, the Forks Police Department, where my father was the late police chief by the way, purchase their fleet from here. I think I'll be having a word with the new police chief about how you treat your customers. I'm very good friends with Chief Marshall and his daughter, I'm sure that he'd be interested in what I have to say."_

"_Are you Charlie's daughter?" _another man asked, walking out of the building.

"_Yes, God rest his soul," _Bella whimpered in an Oscar worthy performance. Lauren and Jess put their arms around her as Bella managed to get a tear to roll down her face.

"_My name is Richard Stroker, but you can call me Dick. I'm the fleet sales manager here. You are?"_

"Dick Stroker?" Jasper questioned us.

The three of us started cracking up and Jasper projected his humor. Everyone started laughing except for Bella who maintained her serious expression.

"_Isabella Swan."_

"_Very nice to meet you. May I offer your condolences in regards to your late father. He was a fine man. I'll be personally handling the sales of your vehicle today. Is this Expedition the one that you were interested in?"_

"_Yes, this and the candy apple red, Ford F-150 in the showroom. My fiance is purchasing that for me."_

"I am?" Jasper asked us.

"_Yes, you are! Punishment for not being a good listener,"_ Bella whispered towards where we were hiding. How the hell did she know we were here? We were being covert and stealth.

"_Why don't we go into my office and discuss this? I'm sure I can make it worth your while."_

"_That'll be fine."_

Jess and Lauren walked into the office with them. I heard Jess whisper Lauren, _"Dick Stroker sounds like a porn star name."_

"_Yeah, I know, but he doesn't look like a porn star. Well, I suppose he can be like a sleazy father who seduces the babysitter."_

My mate is weird. Yep, there's no doubt about that. What kind of woman comes up with porn scenarios?

Bella was able to negotiate both vehicles at forty-five hundred dollars below dealer cost. After Dick Stroker offered her both vehicles at dealer cost, she pointed out that the forty-five hundred dollar rebate was coming from the manufacturer not the dealer so he would be getting the cash back direct from Ford Motor Company anyway. He reluctantly agreed with her and even threw in heavy duty, all weather floor mats for both vehicles.

"How will you be paying for these vehicles?"

"Personal check, we can obtain a cashier's check at the bank if you'd like."

"No, there's no need Miss Swan. I highly doubt that you'd try and pass off a bad check."

Bella sent us a quick text asking us to come in. The three of us walked into the office. She had both my check and Jasper's check filled out. I was shocked, we had each gotten roughly eleven thousand dollars off of the sticker price.

After we signed the checks, Bella asked, "When will the vehicles be ready for pick-up?"

"Give us two to three hours, we have to get your truck out of the showroom, inspect both vehicles, and spruce them up for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Stroker. We'll be back later today."

The six of us walked away from the dealership and I couldn't help, but give Bella a hug. "Thanks for getting me that deal."

"You're welcome," she said, giving me a squeeze.

"I still don't understand how it came about that I'm out thirty-five grand," Jasper stated.

"Punishment for not staying in the Tahoe like we told you too."

"How the hell did you even know where I was?"

"You projected your humor on all of the employees plus Jess and Lauren. Besides, ever since you marked me, I've been able to gage how near or far you are."

Well, that's weird, Lauren doesn't feel that close connection to me. I wonder if Bella's shield makes her more in tune with her vampire side?

"Really? Huh? I thought that would only happen after you were changed," Jasper noted.

"Thanks for my new truck, Jasper," Bella said sweetly.

"You're welcome, baby." The guy was pussy whipped. He just couldn't say no to his mate. Hell, I can't say no to her when she looks at me with her big brown doe eyes and pouts so innocently like that.

Three hours later, after taking the girls shopping, we returned to the dealership to pick up our new vehicles. I had to admit that Bella had a sweet ride. Jasper had purchased a candy apple red, 4 x 4, Ford F150 with a super cab and all of the bells and whistles available for Bella. With three vehicles, we'd definitely have a more comfortable ride down to Arizona.

When we got back home, Bella worked on dinner while Jess and Emmett went to her house to spend one final night with her parents. Carlisle and Charlie were still fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. We were driving to Arizona tomorrow morning.

_**Three days later...**_

We were almost at my house in Arizona. It ended up taking us three days to drive the thirteen hundred miles from Forks. The girls kept needing to pull over and stop to use the bathroom, eat, sleep, and all of those human things that vampires never take into consideration. On top of that, Bella and Lauren both drove speed limit the entire way down. When Charlie yelled at her to go faster, she pointed out that he was the one that told her to always go speed limit because going any faster would put the lives of other drivers at risk. Lauren added that if they got into a car accident, Charlie might survive but she, Bella, and Jess would all die of traumatic injuries. He shut up after that and grumbled the entire way there about how the girls should have been changed months ago.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway of the house, Pat, Angela, Charlotte, Garrett, Laurent, and Victoria came out to greet us.

"Oh, baby, I missed you!" Pat cried, engulfing Lauren in a hug. That's when we all heard the snap. She had hugged her too tightly and broken her spine. All hell broke loose after that.

Carlisle rushed over to Lauren who had passed out from the pain. Charlie had to go and care for a shrieking Pat, Jasper had to send out large doses of calm to everyone, and I was freaking out at the state of my mate who had been perfectly fine and healthy a moment ago.

"Peter! Get a hold of yourself and change her! Now!" Carlisle yelled. "Angela no!"

I turned to my right and Angela had sunk her teeth into Jess's neck and was draining her. Jasper pulled her away from Jess and told Emmett to change his mate because she didn't have enough venom. He was too unhinged to do so. Jasper took Jess and started administrating the bites at the same time as I did for Lauren. They both started howling in agony at the burn immediately.

"Where the hell is Bells?" Charlie asked.

"Shit! I don't know," Jasper cried.

Everyone started looking for Bella who we all found cowering in fear on the floor of the truck wearing as many layers of clothes as possible and with everything from winter scarves to t-shirts wrapped around her neck.

"And you all say that I don't have a sense of self preservation," she mumbled.

"Um, come out of the truck, baby," Jasper said, opening the door to the truck.

"No, that's okay, I'm fine. I'll live here from now on."

"Bella, no one's going to hurt you. Your father, Laurent, and Vicky have taken Pat and Angela hunting."

"No, no...the truck is nice and roomy."

She was terrified, shaking, and staring at all of us in abject fear. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and she was trying to keep her composure as much as possible.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? Why don't you come out of the truck?"

Bella, who was now bordering on catatonic, shook her head no. She shut the door and locked herself inside the truck.

"Alright, we need to get Angela and Lauren inside," Carlisle sighed. "We'll figure out what to do about Bella after that. Peter, you can't just pick Lauren up. Her spine has been broken. We're going to need to slide her onto a makeshift gurney carefully so the venom can heal her properly."

"How about the plywood board that we have down in the basement?" I asked.

"Perfect. Bring it out here and we can figure it out."

Ten minutes later we had Jess and Lauren inside. Poor Jasper was left alone to deal with his hysterical mate who seemingly wanted nothing to do with vampires all of a sudden.

By the time Charlotte and I went out to check on the couple, Bella was quietly weeping in the truck while Jasper was slumped on the ground, absorbing her emotions.

"Alright, buddy, get up," I told him. "You're the Major."

"I can't, her emotions are too powerful. She's..."

"Jasper, maybe you should take her away from here," I suggested in vampire tone and speed. "Give her one last human night out. I think she's shocked at how quickly humanity can end."

"She is. All I can feel from her are shock, but even more than that—fear."

"Major, you need to man up! You're going to have to change her within forty-eight hours," Charlotte snapped. "She can't be human when Jess and Lauren wake up. They'll kill her. Her scent is sweeter now that you've marked her. For God's sake, I have tremendous control and I nearly went for her. I doubt Angela and Pat will be able to control themselves around her when they get back from hunting, they're not under complete control yet."

"Why do you think Angela went for Jess?" I asked.

"She had her monthly period. You guys were all accustomed to it, but Angela and Pat weren't used to blood being so exposed. In an odd way, that may have ultimately been what saved Bella from being attacked."

"Oh man." Jasper dropped his head in his hands. I have to go and hunt if I'm going to change Bella. I lost a lot of venom while changing Jess."

"I'll keep an eye on her," I said.

"You should be with your mate."

"Yeah, I know, but Bella's precious to both me and Lauren. You won't be gone long."

"Alright, give me a couple of hours. I need to find a criminal."

"I'll stay here too, Jasper," Charlotte assured.

Jasper took off running into the night.

Charlotte held my hand and smiled at me. "Your mate will be okay."

"I know, I'm more worried about Bella. She never loses her composure."

"Maybe it was seeing her two best friends changed without warning that spooked her. She's probably a planner. Someone that likes to know all the details of what's happening before it happens."

"Yeah, she is. Plus she had a traumatic week. When Edward and Alice attacked her and Jess this week, they knocked Jess out and they had Bella on her back with her pants off."

"Jesus! The poor thing."

"She was doing her best to keep it together. She didn't want to give neither of them the satisfaction of showing them fear."

"Why? Why do they want to hurt her so much?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know, it's her blood. She smells sweeter than anyone I've ever encountered. I suspect that she's Edward's singer and he's already had a taste of her blood once. He wants more, he's addicted to it."

"And what of Alice?"

"I can't figure her out yet. Bella told us the oddest thing. She said that Edward was ordering Alice around like a lackey. And when he attempted to rape her, he became oddly OCD and ordered Alice to remove her clothes then fold them neatly at the creases. She obeyed him like a lap dog and she said that her eyes darkened with lust whenever he belted out orders."

"What I can't understand is why the hell would she allow her mate to be with another woman? And as a woman, how can she condone rape?"

"I don't know, and here's another weird thing about Edward. When he saw Jasper's mark on her, he spoke of Bella as if she were his possession. 'Who marked what's rightfully mine?' I heard him demand of her. She told him to go fuck himself, but still, don't you think that's an odd question to ask of someone who isn't your mate?"

"Yes, I do. I can tell you that she and Jasper are definitely mates. I've never seen a bond so strong. When he changes her, she'll be his bonded mate and I bet their bond will strengthen even more. Do you think Edward and Alice will come for her even after she's changed?"

"I do, Char. Edward has an unnatural obsession with Bella."

"Well, he's an idiot if he does. She is the Major's mate."

"That she is." I started laughing.

"What?"

"She's just like him, for the most part she has her head together, but when she lets her emotions get to her like now, she really let's them take over."

"You're right," Char chuckled. "She's definitely his other half. Besides, she's the only person that I've ever seen that can bring the Major to his knees."

We talked for a few hours until we realized that Bella had fallen fast asleep in the truck. I jimmied the door open and gently cradled her onto my lap. "You cried yourself to sleep, didn't you, sweet thing?" I brushed her hair back, she was covered in sweat.

"We have to get her out of these clothes. This Arizona heat is brutal even at night. The poor thing will get a heat stroke," a concerned Char said as she removed every piece of clothing that Bella managed to put on herself. "What the hell is that atrocious pink gown with the Hello Kitty on it? A Halloween costume?"

"Oh, um, that was the bridesmaid dress that Jess picked," I informed Char.

"You're fucking with me, right?"

"Nope."

"Well, what the hell did she wear? A Hello Kitty wedding gown?"

"Yep."

"Alright, now she's weird and if Bella and Lauren wore those fucked up gowns for her, they must really love her."

"That they do."

Charlotte finally pulled every piece of clothing off of Bella except for the white daisy dukes and tank top that she had originally been wearing.

"Man! She has a hot bod!" Garrett stated coming out to check on his mate. "Jasper is one lucky guy."

"I sure am," Jasper said jogging back fresh from his hunt. "Thanks for watching her. I can take it from here. I'll take her to a hotel to unwind."

"That's a good idea, Jasper," Char said. "Let her have some peaceful last human experiences before changing her."

"I will. Hey, can you help me unload this luggage from the truck? That way I can leave before Pat and Angela get back from their hunt."

"Sure thing, bro."

Charlotte gathered up the clothes that she removed for Bella and brought them into the house. She kissed Bella on the forehead before leaving her. I did the same thing and gathered up the rest of the luggage together with Garrett. Jasper took off right after that.

I watched Jasper drive away with his mate then stared off into the Arizona Desert. Life has a funny way of changing at a moment's notice. Jess and Lauren were changing and the normally strong Bella was an emotional wreck. Hearing my mate's screams of agony, I rushed back into my house, eager for her to finally become like me and looking forward to what lay on the horizon.

**So do you think the boys should be allowed to approach a car dealership alone? Did the girls do the right thing by commandeering their checkbooks? How did Bella do in negotiating with the salesman? That was pretty slick of her to throw a truck in there for herself, don't you think? Lastly, what did you think of Bella's reaction to her friends' sudden transformations? I'd love to hear from you so I can write back. **

**XOXO mama4dukes**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews, messages, alerts, and faves. I truly do appreciate the awesome feedback. As you've probably deduced, I've been extremely busy these last few weeks. In two weeks, I had to help my high schooler build a catapult, knit a scarf for my middle schooler, help my other middle schooler with a skit, and create a game board with my grade schooler for his study of rocks. If I have to read about igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks again, I'm going to blow a gasket. That being said, I'll do my best to post another chapter before the end of the year. I'd like to wish my readers a holiday season filled with joy, peace, and love. We'll begin chapter 11 with Jasper's point of view.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Jasper's POV**

I drove through the night at vampire speed and checked into the Sedona Rouge Hotel and Spa in Sedona, Arizona. I wanted to get into our hotel suite before the sun rose. We weren't in Forks anymore and I wouldn't be able to leave the room during the day.

Upon check-in, I booked Bella in for a full day at the spa. She would be getting a whole array of treatments from massages to facials to a full body wax. Okay, I admit, I was thinking more about myself with that last one.

Bella was still fast asleep, exhausted from last evening's events. Around nine am, she stirred awake and looked into my crimson eyes with her very human brown ones, I committed them to memory because I knew that it would be one of the last times I would look into them.

"I'm sorry about freaking out last night," she whispered.

"Don't be, you were frightened and you had a right to be. So many things happened at once and you had a stressful week to begin with."

"I know, but it's not like me to lose my composure."

"Bella, you had the week from hell. Not only were you attacked by Edward, but you also had to witness your two best friends lose their lives unexpectedly. We're all entitled to lose our composure from time to time. Today, you're going to unwind and relax a little before you're changed." I needed to be straightforward with her as to what was coming up. Changing her mind wasn't an option. I didn't want to coddle her too much.

"I know I need to be changed and I still want to be, Jasper. I guess what shocked me was that it happened to Jess and Lauren so abruptly. They didn't get to come to terms with their human lives."

"And I promise to give you that opportunity. That's why I took you away from the situation and brought you here. We're at a hotel in Sedona. I'm not sure if I crossed the line here, but I've booked a full day at the spa here at this hotel. I thought that maybe you can use a day to yourself. You can relax and think; search your soul while you're being pampered."

"That actually sounds nice. Thanks, Jasper." She ran her soft, warm hand down my frozen cheek and I could feel her gratitude radiating throughout my body. I gave her a soft kiss on the lips, pulled her into my arms, and held her. I'd miss the feel of my human mate immensely after her change, but I couldn't wait to see my vampire Bella either.

**Bella's POV**

I was sent down to the spa by Jasper to unwind and relax. When I got there, the first thing that happened was a full body wax. How the hell was that supposed to be relaxing? I was gritting my teeth in pain, especially when the technician hit my nether region. Afterwards, I looked down and I was completely hairless. Hmm...something tells me that my mate did this for his own benefit. I recalled one day in February when he was standing in front of me with a pink razor in one hand and shaving cream in the other, begging me to let him shave me. Now, don't get me wrong, I do trim myself, but I don't go completely bare like Lauren and Angela. Jess and I prefer a neatly trimmed bikini area.

After my body wax, I was given a facial. The facial was applied as I soaked in a luxurious mud bath. I was being completely pampered. I closed my eyes to think about my life. I had a relatively happy childhood, but I missed my father tremendously throughout the years. My mother never really understood me. Heck, I don't think that my mother could really understand anyone. She spends her life trying to understand herself and she's pretty out there. I've been to Sedona many times, my mother has tried an array of psychics here in an attempt to get a better grasp on her life. I actually like this city. I made a mental note to show Jasper around here this evening.

I thought about my father, he had always been my rock. Truth be told, if I had to pick between my mother and father, I would always choose him. Even from Washington, my father had a way of showing me that he loved me. If I were feeling down, I could always give him a call and he'd talk things through with me logically. My mother would always tell me that it was the cosmos affecting me or some shit like that, then take me to a psychic.

Twice a year, Dad would fly down to Arizona and take me on vacation somewhere. We would always go to Disneyland over Christmas Vacation, but it was the summer ones that were exciting. My dad loves the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. He'd usually take me to historical sights and he'd tell me a whole slew of stories about these wars. My father loved studying the battle strategies, but he loved the human side of the wars even more. Now that he's a vampire, Dad wants to go to college and major in American History. I told him to go for it, it's always been his dream so he should do it. Garrett is, apparently, thinking about going with him.

After my mud bath and facial, lunch was ordered in for me and I had a delicious chicken salad. Unfortunately, what I really wanted to eat was a Big Mac and fries with a chocolate shake, but I settled with fu-fu because I was at a spa. After lunch, it was time for a meditation session. I couldn't meditate, the woman next to me, who was supposedly chanting, was belting out an operatic solo. So much for relaxing.

With the meditation session over, I was given a full body massage with a reiki session for an hour and a half. Okay, that was relaxing, I had to admit. I hit the showers and had a bottle of water, then the spa technician rubbed me down with some sort of a soothing lotion. I changed back into my shorts and tank top after that and was given a manicure, pedicure, haircut, and they even applied make-up on me before sending me back to Jasper.

I knocked on the door to our suite and he swept me into his arms right away. "You look beautiful. Are you ready to grab some dinner," he asked.

"I am, but I need to get out of these clothes. I've been wearing them since yesterday."

"Uh, yeah, that. I kind of fucked up. When I drove down here, I forgot to bring our clothes with us. We need to pick up a couple of outfits. I would have gone, but the sun was blazing out. It's twilight now, I think I can leave."

"Okay, then I need to go to McDonald's and Taco Bell."

"Why both?"

"Are you kidding? If this is going to be one of my last meals, I want to gorge on fast food. Um, my very last meal will need to be a medium rare filet mignon cooked perfectly though."

"I thought you'd say that. Alrighty, then. Let's go, Bella."

I showed Jasper around Sedona. He was surprised that I knew the area so well. I explained my mother's obsession with anything and everything new age and he understood.

We grabbed a couple of outfits and some pajamas at an outlet mall. Then I took him to a store called Cowboy Corral Western Wear which I knew would please Jasper. They were a store that featured replicas of clothing from the Civil War era. Jasper went crazy buying stuff there. Afterwards we went to a store specializing in cowboy hats and boots. Again, Jasper went insane. In fact, he called home and got everyone's sizes so he could bring back boots and Stetsons for everyone.

Later, the two of us popped in to see one of the many psychics in Sedona for fun. We decided to go with a past life reading. Jasper started projecting his humor when she claimed that he was a reincarnated Union Soldier from the Civil War era who fought valiantly and decimated an entire battalion from Ohio. We didn't bother pointing out to her that Ohio was a Union State during the Civil War. I was supposedly the daughter of a high ranking British duke who ran away to America so that she could avoid marrying an evil, controlling, manipulative prince.

"I can see that," I said, thinking about Edward.

We paid the lady, left the premises, then laughed our asses off.

"Man, I could feel the deception pouring off of her with every word she spoke. She's about as bad as Alice."

"Maybe it's a psychic thing, Jasper."

"Maybe it is, but damn, she wasn't very smart either. Since when is Ohio a southern state?"

I was hungry again by then so we stopped at a steakhouse for dinner. And for the first time in my life, I ate a perfectly cooked medium rare filet mignon. For some reason, the fates were all aligned so that I could enjoy my last meal.

We went back to our hotel suite and hopped into the jacuzzi together. I must have been more tired than I thought because the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was snuggled up in Jasper's arms.

**Jasper's POV**

Bella fell asleep in my arms while we were in the jacuzzi. I carefully dried her off and put her to bed in the nude. I checked out her new bikini wax and did a silent yelp to myself. After bundling her up, I hopped into bed myself and honed into her feelings of relaxation and bliss. I found myself drifting off to the closest thing possible to sleep again and that's how I stayed for the next eight hours.

I found myself stirring to attention when I felt Bella planting kisses all over my neck. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to make love because when I glanced at the clock, it was almost check out time. I could feel Bella's lust and frustration pouring off of her, but there was nothing that I could do. I had to get into the truck before the sun came up. We dressed quickly, checked out of the hotel, and I took the wheel.

We were on the road driving back to Fredonia when Bella suddenly yelled, "Take the next exit!"

I pulled off of the highway and asked her what was the matter.

"I saw a sign to a Baskin Robbins. I need to have my favorite chocolate chip ice cream before you change me."

"Jesus, Bella! I thought that something was wrong."

"Jasper, if you change me without my getting to have some ice cream, I'll hold a grudge against you for our entire existence."

"Well, shit, then let's go get some ice cream."

I pulled up in front of the Baskin Robbins. Bella came out with a pint of chocolate chip and started digging in. She shoved a spoonful in my mouth. "This is rank!" I said.

"Trust me, honey, if you were human, you would be in total bliss."

"I doubt it, the only thing that put me in total bliss was my mama's lemonade and gingerbread."

"Mmm...I love a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer's day."

"So, did I."

I continued driving north towards Fredonia. When we got closer to Pete's house, I stopped near a wooded area to talk to Bella.

"We need to talk about your change."

"I know."

"How do you want it to happen?"

"I don't know. I just want you to do it when you feel the time is right. Don't tell me, just do it. I've made peace with my life now and I'm ready whenever you are."

"Alright."

"Any last requests?"

"I need to pee and I can use a cold bottle of water."

"Okay."

"No, Jasper, I really need to pee. I've been holding it in for the last hour."

"Um, let me get you somewhere where there's a bathroom."

Ten minutes later, Bella was sipping her water, eating a Hershey Bar and feeling refreshed. Not wanting to return home yet, I veered off of the highway into a secluded part of the desert. I parked the truck and pulled my mate onto my lap. I needed to feel her warm human body against my cold, dead one. _Wait, wait, wait...my cold, living dead one? My cold, marble one? Hmm...Charlie would kill me if I referred to myself as dead. I know, my cold, vampiric body. God that just sounds weird._

"Jasper, what are you thinking about?"

"How to refer to myself...your Dad hates it when we vampires call ourselves dead."

"Well, you're not dead, you're just superhuman."

"I like that. I like that a lot."

"Good."

Bella suddenly climbed into the backseat of the truck. She stripped her clothes off and motioned for me to come to her. _No problem there. I'll just strip my clothes off and join her._

I took in the sight of her glorious body before climbing into the backseat of the cab. She was still horny from this morning and I needed to take care of her. I ran my hands down her soft curves until I reached her silken folds. She was already dripping wet, reading and waiting for me.

"Jasper, no foreplay. Just make love to me."

I settled myself onto the seat and said, "Climb on my cock, Bella. Go ahead."

She did as I asked. Bella was still inexperienced when it came to actual intercourse, but she was a quick study. I taught her new things everyday. She found her position and slid down onto me. She gasped as my length filled her and hit her core.

"Use your thighs to move your body up and down, Bella."

She did her best to maneuver herself using her thighs as leverage. I helped her by sliding my hands under her ass and guiding her.

"Oh, Jasper, this feels so good," she panted.

"That's it, baby. Nice and easy."

"Oh...God..."

"Yes?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Shut up, Jasper! You're ruining the moment."

"Sorry, baby." I decided to help her out some more and started thrusting myself into her from underneath. The feel of her bare pussy was driving me crazy. I quickened my movements causing her to scream in ecstasy.

"Yesss...faster..."

"Fuck...oh...Bella...oh...God..."

"Jasper...this...oh...please...yes...yesss...Jasperrrrr!" she screamed as her walls clenched down onto my cock. I looked into her beautiful face as she had her orgasm and I pulsed my seed straight into her core. Her eyes were trained on me. Instinctively, I brushed her hair out of the way and sunk my teeth into the fleshy part of her neck just above her collarbone. I had a few pulls of her mouthwatering blood, then pumped my venom into her. I moved down to her inner thighs, ankles, then to her inner wrist where James had bitten her, I made sure to leave my mark there. I only wanted my mark on her body.

"I love you, Jasper," she rasped, just as she..._fell asleep?_

_What the hell? She should be screaming in pain. I don't feel any pain coming from her. What the fuck?_

Terrified, I bit down on her other wrist and over her heart to inject more venom into her. She still was sleeping so I quickly put her clothes back on, then mine and I hightailed it at top speed back towards Pete's.

Are those flashing blue lights behind me? Shit! They are. Thank God the sun's going down.

I pulled over to the side of the road, grabbed Bella at vampire speed, threw her into the front passenger seat and buckled her in. I put my seat belt on too.

"License and registration," the officer, who reminded me of Charlie, said. I had those ready and handed it to him. Bella was still thankfully silent and sleeping. The officer noticed Bella. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, she is, sir. We're coming from Fredonia and I think the exhaustion just caught up to her. She sleeps like the dead."

Bella let out a little snore just at that moment.

"I can see that," the officer said. I pumped a ton of trust into him just in case. He ran my plates, license, and numbers, handed me my speeding ticket. "Listen, my radar caught you going at a hundred miles per hour, son. Now, I can tell that you have a clean record except for a ticket for running a red light in Forks, Washington about six years ago. Normally I'd have to give you a criminal speeding ticket, but you're not going to go charging down the highway ever again, are you?"

"No, sir." I pumped more trust into him.

"Alright, I'm going to take your word for it. I'm going to drop your speed down to 85 miles per hour and give you a civil speeding ticket. You won't have to appear in court that way, you just pay the fine and you're all set."

"Okay, sir, do I give you the cash now?"

"No, no, you write a check, put the ticket and the check into the envelope I just gave you, put a stamp on the envelope, and mail it. That's it. Now, I don't want to see you speeding anymore. You have a beautiful truck and an even prettier girl, you don't want her to get hurt, do you?"

"No, sir. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome."

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Pete's house. I could still hear Jessica and Lauren screaming which was very normal. I cradled Bella in my arms and rushed inside.

"Carlisle! Carlisle! I need help! Something's wrong with Bella."

He came thundering down the stairs along with everyone else.

"She looks like she's sleeping," Carlisle commented.

"Yeah, but she should be screaming. I just changed her an hour ago."

"What?" Pete and Emmett both gasped. The others, however, were chuckling.

"She's fine, Jasper," Carlisle said. "It's a Swan thing. They sleep through their change and they don't feel any pain. You'll see the physical changes as she transforms."

"Give my daughter to me, Jasper." Charlie was holding his arms out for his daughter. He cradled her still human form against his chest and carried her upstairs. I showed him to my room.

Charlie sat on my bed with me next to him and told Bella stories from her childhood. He kept repeating how proud he was of her and he told her that he couldn't wait to go to Disneyland with her now that they were vampires.

"Can I come too?" I asked.

"I have to think about that. Disneyland is our thing, you know."

"Please? I won't get in the way. They didn't have Disneyland when I was a kid. Pretty please?"

"Oh, alright, I suppose you can come along since you're going to be my future son in law."

"Thanks, Charlie."

"Call me, Dad, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

We talked through the night and well into the next day. Charlie Swan was an interesting man. He kept asking me stories about my youth and childhood and he was especially interested in the War of Northern Aggression. He told me about how he participates in war re-enactments and how he's taken Bella on trips to many historical sites and about how he used to read to her from history books rather than children's books when she was a little girl. He chuckled and recalled how Renee used to read from romance novels to Bella so by the time she was three years old, she had a highly developed yet odd vocabulary compared to other kids at her pre-school.

We talked for the next day and a half when we heard both Jessica's and Lauren's hearts slowing down at the same time. We both went to assist Emmett with Jessica. Charlie felt that it was more important that he was with her since he was the closest thing to a father that she had at this point. Lauren had her mother with her. Laurent and Victoria were with us too.

When Jess's heart finally stopped, she opened her eyes, and she raised her torso up as if invisible cables were pulling her up. This was typical of a newborn. She glanced around the room and immediately became frightened. She shot up and crouched in the corner of the room in the fetal position. She was a typical confused and terrified newborn.

"Approach her slowly, Emmett. Crouch down to her level before speaking to her," I instructed.

"Jess," Emmett whispered.

She looked up at him and nodded her head.

"Do you remember me?"

"Husband," she whimpered.

"That's right, husband."

He held his arms open to her and Jessica immediately fell into them. Emmett rubbed calming circles on her back. Everything was going swimmingly until we heard a shrill scream coming from Peter's room. Lauren was awake, and by the sound of it, she was feral.

Jess immediately held her hands tightly over her ears and started shaking again.

"We need to take her hunting. Let's get her out of here."

We were about to leave along with Victoria and Laurent when, all of a sudden, Charlotte yelled, "Major! Laurent! We need your gifts!"

The two of us went barreling into the room where a snarling, naked Lauren had taken a nip out of everyone and was now working on divesting Carlisle of his clothes.

"I've never experienced a newborn quite so unrestrained," Carlisle whimpered. Lauren was straddling him, licking her lips while staring at a now naked Carlisle. Garrett was restraining Angela from attacking Lauren. And Pat was nursing a bite on her arm.

Peter and Charlotte grabbed Lauren and restrained her but she was fighting them with her newborn strength.

"Laurent, throw your shield over me and Lauren only after Peter and Charlotte back away from her...on three," I ordered. Laurent nodded his head in acknowledgment. "One...Two...Three!" As soon as Laurent's shield went up, Lauren started charging at me. With one arm, I had her restrained and in a headlock, shoving a ton of fear into her.

"That's why he's the Major," Charlotte commented.

"Lauren, you will restrain yourself!" I commanded. "These people are your friends, they're not here to hurt you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whimpered.

"Do you remember your mother?" I asked.

"Yes." She pointed to Pat.

"Well, you hurt her. You bit her. Look at her arm. That hurts."

"Sorry, Mommy."

"Do you remember Peter?" I motioned to him.

"Fuck buddy."

"Fuck buddy? I'm your..." Peter closed his mouth with one stern glance from me. Meanwhile, I was having a tough time holding it together, 'fuck buddy' was pretty funny.

"I gathered my composure and said, "We are going to take you hunting now. It's going to be me, Peter, and Laurent."

"Can you behave yourself so I can get you dressed?"

"Yes."

Laurent lifted his shield just enough so that Char could slide Lauren's clothes through. I dressed her quickly. This was something that I was used to doing from my time in Maria's army.

I looked up at everyone and started rattling out orders, "Charlotte, you and Garrett are on Bella duty. The rest of you help Emmett, Charlie, and Vicky with Jess. Peter, Laurent, you're with me. Make sure you feed if you can, we're going to have three newborns soon and it's going to take all of us to keep them under control. Angela, Pat, it's going to be especially important that you two feed, you're still fairly young yourselves."

_**Thirty hours later...**_

Things were out of control in the house. Lauren was snarling and Jess was sobbing and both of them were having a difficult time adjusting to vampirism. They seemed to be alternating between anger, fear, and confusion and the rest of us are were being run ragged by their emotional outbursts. They had absolutely no control of their motor skills either. They had to relearn everything. This would take time though. Angela was just getting the hang of things and Pat was still learning. Charlie was just a freak of nature, he seemed practically human. Pat was freaking out in complete shock at the state of her daughter and Jess. Charlie reminded her that she was a wreck during the first month too.

We were all down in the basement trying to keep them both at bay when we suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh, shit, who the hell can that be?" Peter asked.

"It's probably FedEx, did anyone order anything?" Carlisle questioned.

"Um, I ordered a book from Amazon," Charlie said sheepishly.

"Charlie! Why would you do that? We have newborns," I reminded him.

"I ordered it about a month ago, it was on backorder. I'll tell you what, you can read it first. It's a book on the Battle of Gavelston."

"Really? I fought in that battle. Cool."

The doorbell rang again.

While we were discussing who should go and answer it, we all heard Bella saying, "I'll get it."

"Okay, thanks, honey," I called back.

Then we all looked at each other and said, "Oh shit!"

We bolted upstairs and came to an abrupt stop when we saw Bella wearing sunglasses and calmly signing for the package.

"Aaaagggghhhh!" the FedEx delivery man screamed and started bolting for his truck at the sight of the thirteen red-eyed vampires behind Bella. Two of whom were snarling at him to get to his blood.

"Thank you! Have a nice day!" Bella called after him kindly and even waved. Then she turned around and faced us. "Um, did you guys forget your contacts? I, at least, had the foresight to wear sunglasses."

"Bella?" I asked.

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"How...when...what..."

"I'm going to soak in the tub now. Then, I think I'll watch some TV. Lauren quit snapping your teeth at me. Jess stop crying, you chose this life." With that, she walked upstairs at a human pace and turned the shower on.

"What the fuck?" Pete cried. "She ain't normal!"

"Erm, it's another Swan thing," Carlisle informed us. "Charlie was just like that, but perhaps had more bloodlust."

"Her shield is helping to stave off the bloodlust," Laurent said wisely. "My shield helped tremendously with mine."

"I missed my mate's awakening because you fuckers can't control your mates!" I roared.

"Yeah!" Charlie agreed. "She's only a newborn once."

"Technically twice, Charlie," Pat said. "You got to see her in the delivery room, right?"

"Yeah, she was a cute, little dumpling. Her cheeks were all red and she had a full head of hair," Charlie reminisced.

"Bella! Honey!" I bolted upstairs to check on her. She's a newborn, doesn't she need me? I don't want Jess and Lauren to need me. I want Bella to need me.

When I got upstairs she was waiting patiently for the tub to fill up. "Do you want to join me in the tub?"

"Um, sure...are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, why?"

"You just went through a traumatic change."

"Not really...well, I have to admit that Jess and Lauren's screeching and crying were kind of annoying. How's a girl supposed to get some beauty rest?"

"_Bella! I hate you!"_ Angela shrieked from downstairs.

"I love you, too, Ange."

"_Me, too, I'm glad you're awake! I missed you so much."_

I hopped into the tub with Bella and pulled her into my arms. She was definitely a vampire. Her skin would feel hard to a human. To me, though, she felt just right. I liked the fact that she was no longer fragile. I ran my hands over her magnificent new vampire body. She looked and felt even more toned than she did before and her breasts stood perfectly uptight. Her scent, oh her scent was absolutely intoxicating. I kissed the sire's bite that I gave her on her neck, I planned on marking her over and over in the exact same spot going forward. Thinking about that made my dick rock hard. Bella noticed and started pumping it with her hand.

I pressed my lips softly onto hers and tasted her for the first time as a vampire. Pete's prediction was right, she tasted even sweeter now. Slowly, I inserted two fingers into her vagina and teased her. I could feel her lust, it was at an incredible high.

We were tempting each other with our hands, both of us eager to make each other cum. Her hand expertly maneuvered it's way around my cock, teasing it and stroking it while my thumb rubbed her clit as I continued thrusting in and out of her with my fingers at vampire speed.

I soon felt her reach her peak with a shudder, arching her back, and moaning as she came. Never selfish, Bella had me sit on the edge of the tub as she latched onto my cock. She swirled her gorgeous tongue around the entire length, then wrapped her full lips around it and let my cock slide to the back of her throat. _Oh, hell, yeah. No gag reflex. _Bella firmly stroked the underside of my cock from shaft to tip then back down again as she gently played with my balls. She moved down to suck on them a bit then quickly brought her attention back to my needy cock.

I moaned as she licked the tip and ran her tongue along the length, taking my whole cock back into her mouth again, sucking on it while sliding it in and out of her mouth. It was too much, the sensation was incredible. The warm caress of her tongue was beckoning me to cum. I exploded into her mouth and her name fell from my lips. I watched as she swallowed what I gave her ending with a lick of her lips with her beautiful tongue. I hopped back into the tub and held her in my arms as she collapsed her head onto my chest.

"I love you, Bella."

"And I love you, Jasper."

"_God, I love you, too, Jasper!"_ Charlotte moaned. Are she and Garrett having sex?

"_Ditto!"_ Garrett groaned.

Yep, I must have been projecting.

"_I fucking hate your guts, Jasper!"_ a frustrated Peter yelled from downstairs. He and Emmett wouldn't be getting laid for at least a few months. Yep, it's payback time for all those months that they jested me because I had to wait for my virgin mate to be ready for me.

"_Yeah, fuck you, asshole!"_ Emmett agreed.

Bella was giggling away in my arms. I tightened my hold and kissed her atop her head and we sat and chatted as if it were any other day.

"So, tell me about your awakening," I prompted.

"Oh, the doorbell rang and I woke up. No one was getting it so I threw the sunglasses that were on the bureau on, walked downstairs, and got the door."

"That's it? You didn't freak out or anything?"

"No, why?"

"It's just that most newborns are unrestrained. You shouldn't have this much control of your strength and you shouldn't be calm at all."

"Why not? It's not like anything's changed. The only difference is that we have venom running through our veins instead of blood. Besides, I knew from the get go that I would have to control my newly acquired vampire strength."

"Yeah, but how are you doing it?"

"I don't know. I just keep thinking about how I did things three days ago and I do it that way. Aren't you supposed to take me to feed or something?"

God, I'm such a horrible mate! The first thing you do with a newborn vampire is feed them and here I was getting a blow job from her. Geez!

"Oh, stop beating yourself up, Jasper! I was horny too."

"You know me too well. Come on, baby. Let's get you fed."

We got out of the tub, dried off, and got dressed. I was completely blown away by how easily my mate was taking to her new life. It was like nothing had changed at all. She packed a small backpack with a change of clothes for each of us in case things got messy and the two of us left the house, hand in hand, to go on our very first hunt together. I couldn't wait to see how she took to hunting.

**Did you like how Jasper gave Bella a chance to unwind prior to changing her? Do you think Jasper changed her at the right moment? What did you think of Jess and Lauren's awakenings? What did you think of Bella's awakening? Do you think the FedEx delivery man will ever return to deliver a package to chateau de vampires? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this chapter. As always, I promise to respond to your reviews. Merry Christmas! XOXO mama4dukes**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for your infinite patience everyone. I needed to refocus my brain before I could write. Without further ado, I present Jasper to you.**

**This story is AU/OOC.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Jasper's POV**

I had run to Las Vegas with Bella for our first hunt. The two of us got sidetracked when we found a tacky tourist t-shirt shop and started shopping. God! I'm such a terrible mate. First, I'm not there for her awakening, she gets awakened by the Fed Ex man instead, then I have her give me a blow, and now instead of hunting, we were shopping. Gee whiz! My mate's a weirdo!

"Which color do you think looks better on me, Jasper? Pink or yellow?"

"Um, the pink. Definitely the pink, that yellow bleaches out your skin."

"Dude, cool contacts! I've never seen red ones. Where did you pick them up?" some goth guy asked me.

_Shit! I forgot to put my contacts in. Just wonderful! My hours old newborn mate didn't forget her contacts, yet I, a centuries old vampire, forget._

"He purchased them from an online site that specializes in contact lenses for movies and the theatre. Just google red contact lenses, they're easy enough to find," Bella informed him.

"Awesome!" the guy said and trotted off happily.

"Bella, we really should go hunting now," I suggested.

"Okay. Hang on, let me just buy these t-shirts. Look at this one, it has Elvis Presley with vampire fangs on the front."

"Really?" Bella held the t-shirt up so I could see. "Cool, we have to buy a couple of those. They're awesome." And just like that, I was completely sidetracked again.

After heading to Stoneys for a couple of drinks and some dancing, I insisted to Bella that we really needed to go hunting. We ran to a seedy side of Las Vegas laden with shopping bags filled with tacky t-shirts. We heard a gunshot going off and headed in the direction where the noise came from. We saw a man bleeding to death from his wound and two men proceeding to rob him of his wallet. They tried to run, but I grabbed both of them and slammed them up against the wall of a building by their necks, knocking them both unconscious.

"Bella, come here," I said. "I want you to latch on right at the artery you see on the side of his neck. Once you do that, you need to suck in with your canines as if they were straws."

"Okay, one sec." My mate reached into her backpack and grabbed a small package of something.

"Baby, what are you...there's no time for whatever you're doing. You need to feed."

"Yeah, hold on! Geez! You're so damn impatient."

She opened the package and pulled out some sort of a moist towelette. She proceeded to wipe the murderer's neck with it. She sniffed his neck, crinkled her nose, grabbed another one and repeated the process. She sniffed him again. All the while, I was staring at her with a look of incredulity. My fucking dinner was getting cold all because my mate wanted to sanitize her meal. Finally, she latched on and started feeding. She spilled a little blood on her, but not too much. All in all, excellent for a first feed. Afterwards, she took out a pocket mirror, cleaned herself up with the wipes and threw a fresh t-shirt on.

Knowing that she was okay, I moved to feed from the other guy.

"You're not going to just bite him without cleaning him up, are you?" she asked.

"Yes, this is how it's always done."

"Um, gross. No way, no how. You need to clean him up. Who knows what kind of diseases he may be carrying."

"Bella, when a vampire...what the hell are you doing?"

"Jasper, these are Purrell Hand Sanitizing Wipes. They kill 99.99% of germs that can cause illness. You can't be too sure these days. You just pull one out from the package like this and clean him up." She proceeded to wipe the guy's neck for me. "And voila! See, just a few seconds of precaution and I probably just saved you from a lifetime of misery."

Oh my fuck! My mate sounds like a god-damned housewife making a public service announcement! Feeding can be an erotic time when you do it with your mate, but doing it with Bella was like doing it with the freaking surgeon general.

I latched onto feed with Bella keeping an eye on me. Afterwards, I threw the two bodies into a nearby dumpster and set them alight using my venom as an accelerant.

"Hold out your hands, Jasper," Bella instructed. She poured some sort of clear liquid goop into it. She did the same with hers and started rubbing her hands together like she was washing them. "It's liquid hand sanitizer for when you don't have soap and running water. It's always good to wash your hands after a meal."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Seriously, Bella?"

"Of course I'm being serious. You just put your hands on a human who hasn't bathed in who knows how long, then you used those hands to open a trash bin. Who knows what sort of germs you came into contact with. You could be the first vampire to come down with a communicable disease, you know."

After washing my hands with the goop, I put my arm around Bella and walked away from the alley with her.

"So, what should we do now, Jasper? I really don't want to go home. It's chaotic there."

"We'll get a room for the night. How does that sound?"

"Ooh, that sounds nice. Maybe we can have a drink at the bar. I like people watching."

"You're an incredible newborn, Bella. It's hard to believe that..." I felt something poking me in the back and suddenly we were surrounded by three men.

"Hand over your wallet and the backpack!" one of the men demanded.

I shook my head and shot a heavy dose of fear in all three of them that brought the three muggers to their knees. I suddenly felt massive amounts of guilt coming from all three of them. The man with the gun handed it to me and another gave me his switchblade. The three men started crying in remorse.

"Live your life honorably and you shall be rewarded," I told the men, left them sobbing on the street, and walked away with Bella.

"That was some pretty fancy emotional handiwork there, Jasper."

"Thanks, Bella. I like to give people an opportunity to redeem themselves. Let's run back to the strip and grab a hotel room. I want to..."

I was interrupted by my cell phone buzzing. "What is it Peter?"

"_Um, Jasper, are you and Bella done feeding and fucking by any chance?"_

"I was about to get to the fucking, why?"

"_Erm, can you try to intercept Lauren? She kind of ran ahead of me and she's currently running naked headed for Las Vegas._

"She what?" I snapped the phone shut on him. "Come on Bella. We have to..."

"I heard. Vampire, remember."

"Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting."

The two of us took off into the night with our shopping bags rustling at our sides. We ran for about a half an hour when I finally detected Lauren's scent. I honed into her feelings and she was confused, angry, bloodthirsty, horny—all in all pretty normal feelings for a newborn vampire.

"I can feel that she's confused, angry, bloodthirsty, and horny, Jasper," Bella pointed out. "Maybe you should just put her to sleep."

"Bella..."

**Bella's POV**

"Jasper? Jasper?" Oh my God, what the hell just happened? I think Jasper's power has gone haywire. Why are he and Lauren sleeping? Holy crap and hell almighty. Um...um...what the heck am I supposed to do now?

Peter came thundering onto the scene. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. "Bella? What happened?"

"I don't know. We were able to corner Lauren. She was feeling confused, angry, bloodthirsty, and horny so I suggested to Jasper that he should put her to...sleep...Peter? Peter?"

Um...oh no...um...I grabbed my cell phone and called home. I explained what happened. Daddy, Carlisle, Garrett, and Charlotte rushed over in Lauren's Tahoe. They drove us all home.

"Alright, start from the beginning, Bella. Tell us what happened.

I had the eyes of ten vampires boring into mine. "Okay, so, Peter called us because Lauren had bolted away from him. We caught up with her and immediately noticed that she was feeling confused, angry, bloodthirsty, and horny so I decided to suggest to Jasper that he put her to sleep and then...why are you guys all sleeping? What's going on?" I asked.

"Bella, I think you might have inherited Jasper's empathic gift," Laurent said. He was the only one still awake, no doubt because of his shield.

"Empathic gift?"

"Yes. You thought of putting them to sleep and they fell asleep. Try to concentrate on waking them up. What are the feelings you felt when you awakened in the morning as a human? Try to remember them."

"Oh, that's easy. I always made sure that I got at least eight hours of sleep so I was rarely groggy. My eyes would pop open and I would stretch my limbs out. Then, I'd sit up, inhale a deep breath, and a burst of energy would should through my body."

All twelve vampires who had been sleeping suddenly shot up to their feet. "Eek!" I screeched and bolted into Laurent's arms.

"What the hell just happened?" my father asked.

"I believe Bella has an additional gift," Laurent informed him.

"And what gift is that?"

"Empath," Jasper sighed.

"Uhh..." I whimpered.

I looked up to see that Lauren was doing naked jumping jacks in the middle of the living room. "I feel so energized!"

Jessica, who was horrified, snuggled up into Emmett's arms. And me? I was just fucking confused.

"Lauren, maybe you should go upstairs and get dressed now," Patty suggested.

Lauren snarled at her mother and tried to take a snap out of her.

"Oh cut it out, Lauren! You were the one that was all excited to be a vampire now deal with it for fuck's sake!" I yelled.

Lauren started growling at me.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Take a snap at me now?"

"Yes!"

"Don't you even think about it! I refuse to put up with your emotions right now!" I was feeling like a feral bitch and I really didn't give a crap. This was all too much. Why am I both an empath and a shield? I just couldn't understand. And if Lauren didn't stop her incessant growling, I was going to give her a piece of my mind. I glared at her ferociously.

All of a sudden, she started shaking like a leaf.

"Jasper! Get Bella the fuck out of here!" Peter hollered.

I felt myself being picked up and thrown into my truck. Charlotte threw my purse inside just as Jasper started it up and drove away. His hands were shaking on the steering wheel. He pulled over in the parking lot of a liquor store. For some reason, the people outside who were smiling one moment got into a fist fight the next.

"Bella! Stop! Look at me!" Jasper ordered. I did as he commanded. "Deep breaths, baby. Deep breaths. Shh...shh..." He pulled me into his arms.

"What's happening to me?"

"You're an empath. You feel people's emotions and you can also send them out."

"I know what an empath is! You're an empath! I just want to know why? Why me?"

"I can't explain that, but I can tell you that you're lucky. I can help you get control of your power. I've been through it once remember?

I thought about Jasper. Oh my God! He must have awakened terrified and alone and on top of that, he had that feral bitch Maria using him and his gift. My heart hurt for him. I had no right whimpering and crying when my awakening, so far, has been a walk in the park.

"Hey, shh...shh...aw...Bells." He kissed the top of my head. "We'll get through this, okay? You and I are going away for a bit."

"Wh...Wh...Why?"

"Because we need to reign in your gift before you can be around Lauren and Jess. You'll be fine, baby."

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

"Home?"

"You'll see," he chuckled as he turned the truck around and started heading southeast.

Twenty hours later, we arrived in a small city within Houston, Texas called Bellaire. "This used to all be an area in Houston called Westmoreland Farms. It was renamed Bellaire in the early 1900's, a city independent of Houston. It used to all be farmland here, my daddy owned several acres here, and I remember running up and down the prairies that used to be here as a boy," Jasper reminisced as he punched in a code to a gate that opened wide for us and closed behind our truck.

He drove down a long driveway and pulled up in front of an extravagant looking hotel surrounded by palm trees, a gorgeous floral rose garden, and beautiful green grass that seemed to go for acres and acres. I was so taken by it's beauty that I couldn't move. Jasper chuckled and helped me out of the cab of the truck.

"You didn't have to bring me to such a nice hotel, Jasper," I said. "Really, I'm not that picky of a person."

Jasper shook his head and picked me up bridal style. He unlocked the door using a key and set me down in the foyer, "Welcome home, Bella."

"Huh?" I stared up at him dumbly.

"This is my house, Bella—my boyhood home."

"This is a not a house, it's a fucking mansion, Jasper!"

"Yeah, I know. I inherited this from my sister when she died."

"But...but...but...I..." I started choking on my own words. "You said your daddy was a farmer."

"Well, yeah, he was a gentleman farmer."

"Oh...and you're...how...inherit?"

"I was reported MIA instead of dead. My parents and my sisters never gave up hope that I was alive. In 1941, after I left Maria's army, a few years before I met Alice, I was hunting in New York City. There was a drunk lying in the alley with a newspaper covering his face. I was thirsty and I was going to drain him. I reached down to grab the newspaper when an article caught my eye. It was titled, 'Billionaire Texas Heiress of Oil Fortune, Jaycee Whitlock, Searches for Lost Brother.' I read the article right then and there and it said that my sister was dying. Well, she would be, she was already ninety-eight years old. She was searching for her brother, Major Jasper Whitlock who would be the sole heir of Whitlock Estates. She was a spinster and had managed the estates herself after my parents passed away. Instead of draining the drunk, I put a twenty in his pocket, took the newspaper and started running home. I realized that I looked a mess so I stopped and purchased a change of clothing and went to see her. I didn't care about the estate, I just wanted to see my sister one last time before she died. Anyway, I snuck into the house through her window where she was sleeping. Leave it to me to be klutzy then. I tripped over my own two feet and landed with a thump in the room. Fortunately, the servants didn't awaken, but my sister stirred awake. She caught sight of me immediately and called my name. I turned around just as she switched on her lamp. She noticed my red eyes immediately. Then, I had no choice, but to tell her what happened. She wasn't scared, Bella. No, she was curious. A lot like you were when you first found out about us."

"And then what happened?"

"Well, she sent the servants away for a few days so that she could catch up with me. And on the third day she met with her lawyer and had everything transferred over to me, her long lost 'great-grandnephew,' Jasper Whitlock. The lawyer never questioned a damn thing. He just did as she asked. Well, he was getting up there in years too. I met him with crimson eyes and everything and he didn't even bat an eyelash. In fact, he told me that I resembled a young Major Jasper Whitlock."

"Well, of course you're going to resemble him, you are him."

"I know."

"Jaycee died peacefully in her sleep a week later. She was holding my hand and the last thing she said was, 'Welcome home, Jasper.'"

"How come you're sharing this story with me now?"

"It seemed like the right time. Besides, I figured it would have more of an effect if I told you here rather than in Fredonia."

"I'm surprised that Alice didn't take this place."

"I never told her about it. And when I told Peter that I was going to take up with Alice, he took all of the paperwork for my family estate and kept it safe for me. He never trusted her, you see."

"He's a great friend."

"He's a great brother," he corrected. "Come on, baby. This is your house now too. Let me take you on a tour."

I toured the sprawling mansion with Jasper. I was completely awed by the splendor of the house. It was huge, no humongous. I thought that Peter's house in Fredonia was big, but it was tiny compared to this place. There were eleven bedrooms each with an attached bathroom, there was also a balcony attached to each bedroom which provided a view of the sprawling estate, a grand ballroom, a bathroom, an office, an indoor swimming pool, movie theatre, a library, a sitting room, really everything that your heart could desire.

"Was the house always this big, Jasper?"

"I had it renovated to bring it up to date after Alice and I were divorced. I expanded the house a bit at the time. Most of the flooring downstairs is still the original hardwood. And obviously there weren't bathrooms attached to each bedroom at the time. There used to be eighteen bedrooms, but what I did was have the architect redesign it and turn some of the bedrooms into bathrooms."

"Wow! It's gorgeous, Jasper."

"Thanks, Bella. I can feel that you like it. I also feel that you're a bit intimidated by it, but don't be. This is just a house."

"It's just that I've never been in anything so large or extravagant."

"It's no big deal. Do you see that spiral staircase?"

"Um, it's kind of hard to miss."

"Well, when I was a boy, I used to slide down it all the time. My mama used to let me run around the house, it drove my governess crazy."

"You had a governess?"

"Yep."

"I've got pictures. Tons of pictures and did you see those paintings in the library?"

"Yes."

"Well, they're of my family. Come and have a look."

Jasper took my hand and led me into the library to view the beautiful paintings.

"That's me in my mama's arms from when I was a newborn."

"You look adorable, Jasper."

"Yeah, I was a cutie, wasn't I?"

"And that's me with Jaycee when she was eight and I was seven; this is Jaycee and me right before I ran away to enlist with the army. Here's one of my mama and daddy and this one is of all four of us."

I took a good look at the beautiful oils. Jasper favored his mother while his sister looked like her father. They were a beautiful family. Really, they were more gorgeous than any I've ever seen. Everyone had the same shade of honey blonde hair and Jasper and his mother had blue eyes while his sister and father had green eyes.

"After we get married, I want a painting done of you and me," Jasper said.

"I don't know if I can do this library justice, Jasper. Besides, this is your family."

"You're my family, Bella. You're my mate. You are who holds me to this earth."

"Jasper..."

He kissed me tenderly on the lips and I turned into a puddle of goo right in his arms.

"Time to break in our bed." I was swept off of my feet and rushed upstairs to the master bedroom. Jasper carefully removed my clothes then his. "What I really wanted to do is rip your clothes off of you, but since this is the only set each of us have. I had to be careful."

The thought of my mate ripping my clothes off of me got my juices flowing. I could feel his lust vibrating through me and I knew that he could feel mine. Jasper placed kisses from my shoulder, up my neck, then along my jawline until he started tracing my lips with his tongue. His left hand was fondling my breast, teasing my nipples, making me feel all sorts of tingles throughout my body. Suddenly, I felt both hands cupping my bottom. I circled my arms around his neck and he picked me up off the ground. Instinctually, I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lowered me onto his length.

"Jas..."

"Shh...first lesson on being an empath, Bella. I don't want to hear you speaking. I want you to communicate to me using your emotions."

Well, that's not fair. What if I feel like moaning?

"Interesting...agitation...you think it's unfair that I'm teaching you this way, don't you?"

You've got that right, bucko!

"Annoyance? Let's see what I can do to change that."

Jasper shoved me up against the door and started pumping himself inside of me.

"I see I caught you by surprise there, baby, but you like it, don't you."

How can I not like it? His entire length is filling me and each time he hits my core I'm that much closer to reaching my peak. My entire body feels like it's on fire. I want him. I want more of him.

"Lust is a powerful emotion, Bella."_ Thrust. _

"Desire." _Thrust. _

"Greed." _ Thrust. _

"Pleasure" _Thrust. _

"Passion." _Thrust. _

"Man can lose complete control of himself with those emotions alone." _Thrust._

"They are a want." _Thrust. _

"A need." _Thrust._

"They can make a man greedy for more." _Thrust._

"Man craves those emotions like an addiction." _Thrust._

"He has a physical need to reach his ultimate goal." _Thrust._

"So he can feel." _ Thrust._

"So he can succumb to feelings of..."_ Thrust._

"Bliss." _Thrust._

"Ecstasy." _Thrust. _

"Euphoria." _ Thrust._

"Cum, my mate." _ Thrust._

With that command, I felt myself come apart all over his length. I was in total ecstasy.

I felt a surge of lust running through my body as he exploded inside of me, then I felt a stab of pain as Jasper's teeth broke the skin on my neck. My mate was radiating possessiveness. His venom surged through my body and suddenly I was overcome by a feeling of complete pleasure. And when he finally released his teeth and started caring for my wound with his tongue, I felt nothing but adoration, caring, tenderness, compassion, and love. Love. Love.

"Yes, I love you, too, Bella," he said while looking into my eyes.

And I tried to send him all the love that I could in response.

**XOXO**

_**The next day...**_

"Jasper, it's overcast this morning, shouldn't we hit a couple of stores and purchase some clothes?"

"Yeah, we should. I also need to go to my bank. Come on, baby, let's go."

I followed Jasper out to my truck and hopped inside the passenger seat. We went to a mall and picked up enough clothes for a week. Afterwards, we went to Jasper's bank.

"Jasper, how may I help you today?" The manager, a vampire, came running up to greet him. Okay, I see that more surprises are in store for me today.

"This is my mate, Isabella. I'd like her name added to my account. She is to have full access to any and all accounts associated to my name."

"Ah, I see...are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Do not question me again, Charles!"

"Of course not," Charles started shaking in his boots. "You do understand that I'll need to see some identification. It is standard procedure..."

Jasper handed Charles my driver's license and birth certificate. Where the hell did he get those?

Thirty minutes later, I was asked to sit and sign some documents. When I didn't sign the papers right away, Charles said, "I've indicated where you should sign."

"I never sign anything without reading first," I informed him.

"If I may be so bold, Jasper, I like this young lady. She's very intelligent."

"Yes, I know. That's why I'm going to marry her."

After reading the papers and being completely shocked and overwhelmed by the figures, I signed the papers.

"Any other order of business today, Jasper?"

"Yes, I need an account set up in the name of Charles Swan Whitlock."

"Yes, sir, I have copies of his documents already on hand. They arrived from Peter this morning by secure courier."

"Good, may I see them please?"

"Of course." He handed a folder over to Jasper. "It's a fine name he has," Charles, the bank manager said, looking at my father's name.

"Good, good," Jasper said as he reviewed the papers. "Deposit twenty-five million into his account for me."

"I'll handle the transfer right now, sir."

"Excellent, how is everything going for you, Charles?"

"Well, the same as always. Life doesn't change for our kind, does it?"

"No, no, it doesn't."

"I'm sure that Makenna would like to meet Miss Isabella."

"That would be nice. Perhaps in a month or so, we're still in our honeymoon phase." Jasper winked at Charles.

"I understand, I remember those days fondly."

"Well, we should get going now," Jasper said.

"If there's anything, anything at all that I can assist with, Miss Isabella, please call me." Charles handed me a business card. I wrote my personal cell phone number on the back, just in case."

"Thank you, and call me Bella, please."

"Of course."

We left the bank and got back into the truck. I took a look at the business card. "Jasper! The name of the bank is Whitlock Savings and Loan."

"Yeah, I know."

"But...but...how?" I was getting exasperated. Jasper was full of surprises today.

"Jaycee founded the bank," Jasper informed me. "My sister was a trailblazer in her day. She never married because she enjoyed her independence. She refused to let any man control her. That's why she was so hellbent on finding me. She didn't want any Whitlock assets going to anyone other than a Whitlock."

"And who is Charles?"

"Charles is a friend of Peter's. I met him in the 1950's after I slipped and had run to Peter's house. You see, he and his mate are both mental shields. Alice can't see him or her at all. Peter suggested employing them at my bank because neither of them could be probed by Edward or seen by Alice. On top of that, Charles is an attorney so he can decipher any legal documents. We sent Makenna to college to get her degree in accounting and they've been running the bank for me since 1958. They're very kind and honest people."

"I can see that."

"So, what do you want to do now?" Jasper asked as if it were a normal day.

"Aren't you a little shocked, Jasper?"

"About what?"

"Jasper, you're some sort of an eccentric billionaire and you're just..."

"I'm still the same Jasper."

"But you worked at the bookstore with me!"

"I'm not afraid of hard work."

"I know and I love you! I love you because you're you and you don't let all of this money go to your head. Do you realize how important that is to me? Edward...well, he used to try to adorn me with gifts and make me feel less than worthy because my father wasn't as wealthy as he is. So did Alice, for that matter. But Daddy was never poor. He's a good man and financially, I'd say that he was solidly in the upper middle class. He was able to send both me and Lauren to college and take care of rent for me, Lauren, and Angela."

"Your father is a great man, Bella."

"I know he is. And so are you. You're a great man, Jasper. It wouldn't matter to me if you were penniless, I'd still love you because you are a great man. You didn't have to put my name on your accounts, Jasper."

"Yes, I did. You're my mate, Bella, and it's my job to take care of you even if you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself."

I practiced my gift and sent him a ton of gratitude along with my love.

"You're welcome, Bella, and the love goes without saying."

"Did I do good with my gift?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Can we go to your house, Jasper? I just want to spend time alone with you and your home is so beautiful."

"It's your house, too, Bella."

**XOXO**

"So, we need to chat, Bells?"

"About what?"

"Living arrangements."

"Living arrangements?"

"Yes."

"Do you really want to live with Lauren, Jessica, and Angela?"

"The truth?"

"Of course I want the truth."

"Yes and no."

"Yes because I love them to death, but no because I'm a very private person."

"Here's the thing. You're going to need privacy, Bella. When you were out at the mall, how did you feel?"

"A bit overwhelmed. I attributed it to being a newborn."

"But it's not, Bella. That's how you'll feel when you're around people because you're an empath. You're absorbing all of their emotions. And I speak from experience when I say that Lauren alone will be enough to drive you insane."

"Oh, I know, she is moody. I'm just glad that she'll have no more periods. It was bad when she was PMSing."

"Tell me about it! I wanted to throw myself into a pyre once a month. Anyway, tell me what you think of this idea, we live in the same town as everyone else, but not with them. And I'm telling you this much now, I'm not living in the same house as your father. Just his mere presence is a cockblocker."

"How is everyone else going to feel about us moving?"

"They'll understand because we're both empaths. You see, we affect them just as much as they affect us."

"Shouldn't you be taking care of Lauren and Jess?"

"Nope, Pete and Em have to do it themselves and they're well aware of this. I'm only responsible for my newborn."

"But Lauren and Jess are so out of control."

"I know, but Pete's dealt with worse and it's your well being that matters the most to me in any case. Yes, you have enormous control of your faculties, but you have two gifts that you need to master. You are actually a more complicated case than Lauren and Jess."

"Do they have any gifts?"

"Not that I know of, but I have a feeling that your father does."

"My father?"

"I think he's one powerful motherfucker."

"How do you know this?"

"Just a hunch. I've been around a lot of newborns, but none quite like your father."

"What makes him so special?"

"First of all, it's the amount of control he has. Second, do you remember how he was able to run from Fredonia to Forks when you were attacked?"

"Yes."

"I don't know any newborn that would have that level of control. And third, and perhaps the most telling, is how he was able to control the situation between us and the Quileute wolves. He was able to command their attention and manipulate everything to go his own way."

"Yeah, but he's friends with them."

"Bella, we're their mortal enemies. Not only that, but think about when he was human and Vicky slipped and bit Pat. Somehow, he was able to convince us all to do things his way. He even convinced Carlisle to change him and that's not something he does easily. Carlisle still doesn't know what hit him. He's glad that he changed your father, of course, but he's still confused as to why he changed him without even thinking about it."

"Yeah, you're right. When I was with Edward and wanted to be changed, Carlisle was always preaching to me about considering every option prior to going through with it."

"Do you see what I mean about your father?"

"Well, how do we discover what his gift is?"

"Eleazar Denali."

"Denali? Isn't that who the freaky four live with?"

"No, they own a house in Denali, but they have nothing to do with Eleazar and his coven. The ladies aren't exactly up to par with Edward and Alice's standards, per se."

"Why? What's wrong with them?"

"There are five Denali coven members. Eleazar and his mate Carmen and three other women: Tanya, Kate, and Irina. The three other women are succubi."

"Succubi as in the female demons in mythology that take the forms of human women to seduce men in their dreams and lead them to their deaths?"

"Exactly."

"Are they female demons?"

"No, they're just horny female vampires."

"Lauren's a horny female vampire."

"Yeah, but she doesn't have the allure that these women have."

"Jasper, I'm not sure if I want you near them."

"Jealous, Bella?"

"Yes!"

"They're very nice. Besides, they have their morals firmly in place. They'd never try to seduce a mated vampire plus we men are not exactly their type."

"How the hell could you not be their type?" Now, I was completely insulted. My man was perfect!

"Um, we have the wrong substance running through our veins."

"What do you mean?"

"They like fucking humans."

"Oh...oh...I guess that we can meet them, then."

"I'm sure they'd like that. They're accustomed to being shunned by women. That's what Alice, Rose, and Esme did to them."

"Why? Because they like human men?"

"Yes, that and I detected a ton of jealousy from them whenever we saw them. They're very beautiful. Regardless, it's Eleazar that we're concerned with. His power is to detect gifts and his loyalty lies with Carlisle so we have no worries. His mate can't stand Edward, Alice, Rose, and Esme and neither can the succubi sisters."

"When will we meet them?"

"In a few months. We need to get Lauren and Jess under control first."

"Why are they the way they are?"

"There's nothing special about Lauren and Jess's behavior, Bella. They're actually quite normal. Angela and Pat were like that too. You and your father are actually the odd ducks here."

"Am I okay?"

"You're fine, baby. You're actually quite extraordinary."

"You're extraordinary too."

"I know," he smirked.

I plopped onto his lap and let him hold me. I was feeling calm and secure in my mate's arms and I was content just being with him. I had a lot to think about and Jasper's arms were the perfect place for me to do it.

**Bella is certainly an interesting newborn, isn't she? Are you surprised that she's an empath? Do you agree with her that feeding surfaces should be sanitized prior to indulging? What do you make of Jasper's family inheritance? Do you agree that he's not responsible for Lauren and Jess? Let me know your thoughts and I'll write back. XOXO mama4dukes**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for your awesome reviews everyone! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story.**

**Masticate: {transitive verb} to grind or crush (food) with or as if with the teeth.**

**This story is AU/OOC/OTT**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Carlisle's POV**

It's been three months since Jessica's and Lauren's awakenings and things were finally settling down. They were having a tough time adjusting emotionally to their new lives and controlling their strength has been even more difficult. Lauren was having an easier time than Jessica. Her mother and Charlie were here, but Jessica was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she would never see her parents again. She spent her time whimpering and crying. She was also missing Bella and would constantly cry while thinking about her.

Neither Jess, Lauren, nor Angela could understand why Bella couldn't be in the house with us. We tried to explain that Jasper was an empath in complete control of his gift, but Bella, while in control of her faculties, still was learning to control her emotional input and output. Newborn emotions would be absolute chaos for her and she in turn would wreak havoc on their emotions.

The other problem was boredom. While Angela had enough control to go on an occasional outing to Las Vegas; Jess, Lauren, and even Pat still could not. Their bloodlust was out of control and, in the case of Lauren, it was taking two of us to accompany her whenever she needed to hunt. She had a tendency to run towards fun—meaning Las Vegas. Jess and Lauren wanted to go out and have a night out, but it was going to take a few more months of patience on their part for them to be at the point where they could go out. It took Angela nearly a year before she could go out in public.

"Carlisle, there's a phone call for you," Charlie jogged me out of my thoughts handing the phone to me. "A Mr. Eleazar Denali."

"Oh, thank you," I told him as he left the room. "Hello?"

"_Carlisle, my friend. How are you?"_

"I'm good, you?"

"_Excellent. I'm in good spirits. The house occupied by your ex-wife and former coven members was recently sold and we all feel as if we can finally breathe."_

"They sold the house?"

"_Yes, they put it up on the market three weeks ago. Apparently, they've all come into some sort of financial windfall and _they've_ decided to move to Paris."_

"How come they were able to sell the house so quickly? Denali is secluded."

"_Are you kidding? I purchased the house. I wanted them out of the area immediately. Having them so near was cramping our style. We had to constantly be on guard with our thoughts just in case Edward was eavesdropping."_

"I completely understand. What are you doing with the house?"

"_We demolished it ourselves. We didn't want to take the chance of them returning to the area. They know that they aren't welcome in our house. Irina nearly took Alice's head off the last time she encountered them. And when Edward tried to attack her, he was zapped by Kate and I ripped his hand off," _Eleazar informed him. _"So, who was it that answered the phone?"_

"A friend," I replied, not wanting to give out too much information.

"_So that's how you're going to play it. I suppose you won't tell me how you acquired this friend?"_

"Not yet, but I will need your special talent eventually."

"_So, he's a newborn friend. I see," he chuckled. Eleazar always was perceptive. "Let me get down to the reason for my phone call. I'm wondering if you can tell me where I can locate a human named Isabella Swan. I know for a fact that you're familiar with her considering her history with Edward and your family."_

Practically the entire family burst into my room at that moment with worried expressions.

"Why?" I growled protectively.

"_Her life is in danger. On their final hunt in Denali, I overheard Alice promising Edward that she would get him her blood no matter what, but he would have to drain her this time. Apparently, she knows of a tracker they can hire to find her. Edward seemed deranged, crazy even. He kept saying that he needed her blood in order to survive. That's when Alice said that she would stop at nothing to obtain Bella's blood for him—even if it means involving the Volturi if the tracker is unsuccessful. Carmen and I ran to Forks, Washington as soon as we heard, without even stopping at our house, to try to find her, but she was no longer there. We've hit some sort of a dead end."_

"We'll see you in two days. Don't make any decisions." With that, I hung up on my friend.

Peter was already on the phone with Jasper explaining the situation to him. He said that he would meet us in Denali in two days.

"What the hell is going on?" Charlie asked.

"We need to go to Alaska. All of us. Isabella's life is in danger."

"You think, Carlisle? I heard what your friend said about what he overheard. Edward sounds like a drug addict and his drug is Bella's blood. Do you know the lengths that addicts go to in order to obtain their drug?"

"Charlie, I'm a physician. Of course I know about drug addicts. I'm more worried about what would happen if Alice gets the Volturi involved. They'd have a field day with a vampire that's both a shield and an empath."

"What do you mean?"

"Charlie, I will explain it to you when we arrive in Denali. Please have patience. If Alice goes through with her plans, our entire family is in danger."

"Alright, I trust you, Carlisle. I'll give you two days, then I force the information out of you."

I had no doubt that he would, Charlie Swan was proving to be the most intimidating vampire that I'd ever come across.

**XOXO**

Two days later, we arrived in Denali, Alaska. We hired a private jet because we had four newborns who were not fully prepared to be in a cloistered jet with humans yet. After landing in Anchorage, we rented two SUVs and drove the rest of the way to Eleazar's home. Jasper and Bella were arriving separately via commercial airlines.

I knocked on the door to Eleazar's massive log cabin. He answered the door flanked by another male vampire, a friend of mine named Randall.

"Welcome, Carlisle. I wasn't expecting for you to bring an entourage," Eleazar said. "Why don't you all come inside?"

We all entered the house and were led to the living room where we sat on several sofas.

"Care to introduce the new additions to your family?" he asked.

"Of course, you already know Peter and Emmett. The lovely women by their sides are their mates, Lauren and Jessica. This is Laurent and his very stunning mate, Victoria. Over here are Garrett and his gorgeous mate Charlotte. This is Charlie and his beautiful mate Patty. And this is my mate, Angela."

"Jesus! Couldn't you bring any unmated men with you?" Tanya asked jokingly.

"Sorry," I chuckled. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Eleazar and his mate Carmen. This is Tanya, Kate, and Irina. And the gentleman to your right is Randall."

"I'm Irina's mate," Randy said.

"Congratulations, my friend!"

"You, too, Carlisle."

"Now where's Jasper? I thought he was coming with you?" Kate asked excitedly.

"He's..."

Just as I was about to speak the doorbell rang. Eleazar went to open the door and led Jasper and Bella inside.

"Jasper, who's your friend?" Tanya asked.

"This is my mate, Isabella Swan."

"Isabella Swan?" the Denalis all asked at the same time.

"As in Edward's Isabella?" Eleazar asked. Big mistake. He was pinned up against the wall in seconds by his throat by a feral Jasper. His feet were dangling in the air, his entire body flailing wildly.

"Let's get this straight. Isabella is my mate not Edward's. Mine. Do...you...understand...me?"

"Yes, Major," Eleazar managed to croak out. He was released immediately and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Fuck me, my future son in law might give me a run for my money in the intimidation department," Charlie muttered. "Come here, Bells. Give your old man a hug, I haven't seen you in three months!"

"Mom, quit fucking with my hair!" Lauren snapped at that moment.

"Watch your language young lady. I brought you into this world and I can take you out."

"You already did!"

"Geez, Lauren, calm down," Bella said.

"Calm down? Calm down? While you were fucking around with Jasper in Texas, I was held prisoner against my will in Arizona. They wouldn't even let me go to Walmart, Bella! And now we're on vacation in god-damn Alaska and we have to feed from animals!"

"Are they really that bad."

"They taste funky, Bells!"

"Really? I'm a real stickler for taste."

"Yeah, well, you're in for a shock," Angela said. "Animals fuck with your control too. You're always hungry."

"Bella, I missed you," Jess sobbed. "They wouldn't let me see you."

Meanwhile, Eleazar and his coven were staring at us with aghast expressions. Well, everyone but Randall.

"They kind of remind me of my human family," he commented.

"They are a family," I said.

"Correction, Carlisle, we are one big, happy family," Charlie said.

"Did you change an entire family, Carlisle?" Eleazar's eyes had bulged to the size of saucers.

"Not by myself! I only changed Charlie," I answered smugly.

"Perhaps you should enlighten us to your new circumstances, Carlisle," Eleazar said, warily.

"Certainly, Angela, Bella, Jess, and Lauren happened to be in Las Vegas on the same weekend as Jasper, Emmett, Peter, and me. We discovered that we were mates. I slipped and nearly drained Angela so Jasper stepped in and changed her. I took her home to Arizona for her newborn year while Bella, Jess, and Lauren finished up their bachelor's degrees in Seattle. Jasper, Emmett, and Peter went with them, of course. Meanwhile, Alice contacted Victoria claiming to be searching for Bella because, according to her, she was in danger because Jasper was supposedly heartbroken that he had lost Alice and wanted to murder Bella. Victoria and Laurent sensed Alice was lying, they've had previous interactions with her before, so they went looking for Bella to warn her that her life was in danger. When they arrived in Seattle, they discovered that their assumptions about Alice were correct and that Jasper and Bella were in fact mated. They were invited to stay with the three couples."

"Let me take over from here, Carlisle," Charlie said.

"Go right ahead."

"So, I went to the girls' graduations along with my wife, Patty. The day after, we were at their house and Patty was giving everyone their hair cuts. She snipped her own finger and Victoria slipped so Jasper and Peter changed her. I wasn't about to live without my wife so Carlisle changed me in Arizona. After that, Peter changed Lauren, Jasper changed Jess, and, finally, Jasper changed Bella. You don't need to know all of the details in between. So, Eleazar, who are these Volturi fuckers and why is Carlisle so worried about Alice getting them involved?"

"I'll let Carlisle answer that," Eleazar smirked.

"The Volturi are the self appointed leaders of the vampire world. They like to collect talented vampires to add to their guard. A vampire that is both a mental and physical shield is rare, extremely rare. Shields, per se, are not very rare, but in general they are either mental or physical. In our family, we have Bella and Laurent who are both mental and physical shields which is a rarity, but Bella is an empath in addition to being a dual shield—she would be regarded as a prize."

"And by 'prize,' you mean prisoner, don't you?"

"Yes, she would be forced to serve on their guard."

"Well, who the fuck made them the leaders of the vampire world?"

"I told you, they appointed themselves."

"Well then we'll just have to un-appoint those fuckers, won't we?"

I looked around the room and Laurent, Victoria, Charlotte, Emmett, and all of the Denalis had horrified expressions on their faces. Peter and Garrett had looks of determination coupled with smirks on their faces.

"Now, you're talking, Daddy!" Peter said.

"You can't possibly be suggesting that we take down the Volturi?" Eleazar asked, shocked.

"I'm getting sick of those jokers anyway," Garrett announced. "Besides, how do you think our nation won independence from the British? We, as a nation, collectively went out and fought against those slimy redcoats!"

"Don't forget, we French helped until our nation was nearly broke," Laurent said.

"The founding fathers of our country mustered up their balls to fight against tyranny and oppression. If they can do it, we can do it. We don't need to kowtow to those dictators anymore!" Garrett declared.

"Yeah!" Charlie, Peter, Jasper, Laurent, and Randy agreed.

"Randall, you're insane! The Volturi are too powerful, they're too..."

"Aw, come on, Irina. Those fuckers have been in power for over three thousand years. It's time someone takes them out. Why not us?"

"How can you be so casual about this?"

"Enough!" Eleazar yelled. "We're not even sure if Alice will contact the Volturi yet. I overheard her mentioning a tracker first. Besides, it's not Isabella the Volturi will want, it's Charlie."

"Me? Why? What did I do?"

"You are not only a mental and physical shield, but you have the power to make people do your bidding."

"That's no big deal. I have the power of persuasion," Garrett said.

"No, Garrett. Charlie's power is much more than persuasion. To put it simply, his power is mind control. He will have the power to make people obey his every command, to bend to his will, once he is trained to use his gift properly."

"Um, how exactly does that work?" Bella asked.

"Charlie, ask one of us to do something that we normally would not do. Mentally, you need to be confident that you can convince them to do your bidding."

"Alright." Charlie closed his eyes and started thinking. "Um, Tanya, is it?"

"Y...Y...Yes?"

"Run to the nearest mini mart, pick up a hot dog and a gallon of milk, bring it back here, then eat it in front of us."

Tanya nodded her head and darted out of the house.

"Erm, perhaps I should have told you that the nearest mini mart is about a one hour run away," Eleazar said.

"So, if she does as he asks, it'll be a good test."

"Oh, I'll pay good money to see her eat human food," Emmett commented, chuckling.

"Do you detect any other gifts among our family members?" I asked Eleazar.

"Really, Carlisle? You have three mental and physical shields, two empaths, one bond reader, one with the gift of persuasion, one with the power of mind control, an evasion artist, and a clairvoyant. I hardly think that you need to add any more to your collection."

"I'm not collecting gifted vampires, they just happen to be gifted."

"Yes, yes, I know. Anyway, no, none of the others have gifts."

_**Two and a half hours later...**_

Tanya came darting into the house carrying a plastic shopping bag and a gallon of milk. She promptly sat down in front of Charlie and fished out a hot dog and stared at it. She was obviously trying to figure out how to eat it. Frankly, I had no idea how to eat a hot dog either. It was the first time I've ever encountered one.

The hot dog seemed to come in two parts. I believe the outside was sort of bread while the inside was a meat of some sort. It smelled vile, that much was for sure.

"I believe you separate the two parts," Kate instructed. "The bread-like substance on the outside is to be consumed first followed by the dog's penis on the inside."

"But..." Bella was about to say something, but a smirking Peter clamped his hand down on her mouth.

Tanya consumed the bread on the outside.

"Now take the dog's penis as you would a man's," Kate continued. "I believe it melts as you suck."

Tanya swirled her tongue around the meat, sucking it in, then pulling it out of her mouth.

"It's rather limp, Kate. This is very difficult to do since the organ is not attached to the living being. Usually they become more erect while in my mouth. Of course, I've never been with an animal before, only men and the occasional woman."

"Tanya, take the hot dog and masticate," Bella instructed.

"Really? That'll work?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Tanya slipped her panties off from under her dress. She spread her legs wide exposing her snatch to us and then...

"Masticate, Tanya, not masturbate!" Bella yelled.

"I don't understand."

"Put it in your mouth, chew, then swallow."

"Ah, I can do that."

"You had to go and ruin the fucking show, Bella!" Peter snapped.

"You're damn right I did, you pervert!"

After she was finished eating, she opened the gallon of milk and downed the whole thing at once.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that Charlie's gift is mind control as Eleazar says," I said.

"May I go to the bathroom and vomit now?" Tanya asked.

"Sure, sorry I had to do that to you, cutie," Charlie replied flirtatiously. Pat growled at him and started glaring at Tanya. "What, Patty? She's cute."

We could hear her bringing her food up for twenty minutes straight making us all cringe and wanting to vomit ourselves.

"Now that everyone's gifts are confirmed, what do we do about Alice and Edward?"

"I think the first step is to figure out who this tracker is, Carlisle. The only one I know of is Demetri, but he's with the Volturi. The tracker in question is definitely not with the Volturi because Alice mentioned going to them as a last resort. It's time that those of us who have been vampires for a while placed phone calls."

Tanya came out of the bathroom looking green. "That was disgusting. Oh...God! I can't believe that I consumed a dog's penis!"

"Okay, a hot dog isn't a dog's penis. It's actually processed meat trimmings—typically beef, pork, or chicken, forced into casings with flavorings and preservatives such as sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite," Bella explained. "Your hot dog wasn't even properly prepared. It was actually overcooked. You can tell by the way the casing had puckered up. I would take it back to the store and complain."

"Bells!" Jasper chastised.

"What? Jasper, the mini-mart should never have even sold that hot dog to her. It was barely edible."

"She's right, Jasper. It tasted vile," Tanya agreed.

"Tanya, how the hell do you even know what a hot dog tastes like? You thought that it was a dog's dick until a few seconds ago. They didn't even have hot dogs in your time."

"How old are you?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, a thousand—more or less."

"A thousand?"

"Actually the first sausages were invented in Germany in the thirteenth century and called 'Frankfuter Wurstchen' and were handed out to the public during imperial coronations," Bella said.

"Where the hell do you come up with this shit?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, I read about it in when I was researching hot dogs once."

"Why were you researching hot dogs?"

"So, I could eat the perfect one, of course."

"And were you able to?"

"Yes, when we went to New York City, there was a hot dog shop called Gray's Papaya. They served the perfect hot dog."

"Please don't get her started on hot dogs, Dad," Lauren begged. "It's almost as bad as her steak obsession."

Charlie instantly clamped his mouth shut; no doubt because of lingering memories of his daughter's obsession with steak.

Jessica suddenly started crying again for some odd reason. This happens a lot with her. Bella went over to sit by her friend and cradled her in her arms. The Denalis didn't bat an eyelash. They understood that newborn emotions were temperamental so they just let it ride out it's course.

_**One week later...**_

**Jasper's POV**

Bella was going out of her mind. It had been a week since we arrived in Denali and this was the first time since discovering that she was an empath that she's had to spend time around other vampires. It didn't help that Jessica still had crying jags. I had to tell Bella that she couldn't send her any calming emotions because it would only hinder Jessica rather than help her. Lauren, on the other hand, was quickly coming back to herself because of Bella's presence. Just having her best friend around seemed to help enormously. And Angela was on top of the world having Bella around.

Charlie and I were currently sitting in the living room jamming on our guitars. When I found out last week that Charlie could actually play guitar, I ran to Anchorage, purchased two Fenders and amplifiers and brought them home so we could kill some time. We were playing Van Halen's 'Eruption' for everyone when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Eleazar went to answer it flanked by Laurent, Pete, and Emmett. Laurent kept his shield around the group while Bella and Charlie threw theirs around everyone else.

"Alistair, what brings you to Denali? Come in." Eleazar motioned inside the house.

"I'm actually here on business, Eleazar. I'm looking for..." he zeroed in on my Bella, "her."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Peter had him decapitated.

Charlie swiftly patted down his body like an experienced cop and relieved him of his belongings. "Take his legs off. I want him put back together for questioning. Jasper, you're with me. Bring the zappy girl along too."

"Um, my name is Kate."

"That's right, Katie. I'm sorry that I forgot your name, sweetheart. Forgive me?"

Geez, Charlie is such a flirt. If Kate were human, she would have blushed a hundred shades of crimson at being called, Katie. The three Denali succubi and Carmen always became googly eyed around him. It was like Peter, Emmett, Carlisle, and I instantly lost our mojo. Of course, Angela pointed out that we never really had mojo to begin with. We all took offense to that.

I dragged Alistair into the basement and ripped his legs off before reattaching his head.

"Eli! He needs blood before we can question him!" I yelled.

I heard the front door open then close immediately. Ten minutes later, Eleazar returned with a deer. He snapped it's neck and offered it to Alistair who latched on immediately.

"Disgusting," he complained.

"You're in no position to complain," Eleazar told him as he picked up the carcass and walked upstairs.

"I am ordering you to give me my legs and release me!" Alistair yelled. "I've done nothing wrong. I was simply looking for someone for an acquaintance."

"And why couldn't this acquaintance search for this friend by himself?" I asked

Alistair remained silent and stoic.

Charlie looked at Alistair with a poker face. He suddenly looked into his eyes and, instead of asking him a question, said, "You know, at this point your fate resides in my hands. I can tell that you're feeling an incredible amount of confusion. I'm thinking that you were either hired to search for someone or maybe simply doing someone a favor. Hey, we've all been there. We've all done things for others that we thought was something little without delving into the reasons of why they were asking us to do this favor in the first place only to find ourselves in a sticky situation later. This is where you are right now. At this point, your only salvation is to ease your conscience and tell us the reasons why you're in this situation. Things are looking pretty bad for you right now and, I'm not going to lie to you, they are; but this is where you can turn a new leaf. You can get this stuff off of your chest now and tell us what you know or we can do this the hard way. It's all riding on you now. The choice is yours."

Alistair looked down at the venom leaking out of his thighs. The wheels were turning in his brain. I could feel fear and confusion pouring out of him. Oddly, I didn't feel any deception from him at all. He looked up at me and his eyes widened as even more confusion set in.

"I was searching for a human girl named Isabella Marie Swan. I was told that her life is in danger. An evil vampire named Major Jasper Whitlock, who was once a companion to a woman named Mary Alice Cullen, has a vendetta against her. Apparently, he feels that she is responsible for the demise of his relationship with Mary Alice. I fear, though, that I was given misinformation for you are Major Jasper Whitlock, are you not? I honestly thought that I was saving a life."

I didn't confirm that I was Major Jasper Whitlock at all. I simply let Charlie do all the talking because with his years in law enforcement, the man was a master at interrogation.

"Who hired you?"

"I wasn't hired. I was simply doing a favor for a friend."

"And who is this friend that you were doing a favor for?"

"This is where I am even more confused. It was Carlisle Cullen, but I just saw him."

"I'm assuming that this person contacted you by phone?"

"Yes."

"Was it Carlisle Cullen that you spoke to directly?"

"No, it was his son, Edward. I was told that Carlisle was tracking the girl."

"Alright, sit tight." Yeah, sure, as if the guy could go anywhere without legs. Charlie motioned me and Kate upstairs. He walked to where Alistair's belongings were and found his cell phone. He started going through the calls. He logged into some sort of database on his laptop and started plugging some numbers in. "I could tell that he was being honest, but the question is why would anyone use Carlisle's name?"

"Carlisle is very well connected, Charlie," Kate answered.

Charlie simply grunted. "I have Alistair's call log here. He doesn't speak to too many people at all. He had one incoming phone call roughly two weeks ago that lasted for twenty-nine minutes, it originated from a cell phone registered to a E.A. Mason."

"That would be Edward, his real name is Edward Anthony Mason."

"Alright, we're getting somewhere now. I have Edward's phone number so now I can trace his calls and see who he's contacted. But, now we have the additional problem of Edward using the power that comes behind the name, Carlisle Cullen. This is not a good development. We need to put an immediate stop to this and the man downstairs cannot be allowed to leave," Charlie whispered the last part.

"I can keep him from leaving," Kate said. "So can Tanya. We can use him."

"How?"

I knew exactly how, but I wasn't about to explain it in front of Charlie.

"We have our ways, that's all you need to know."

"Alright, I trust you. I'm sorry that you couldn't use your zappy thing, Katie. Would you like to zap Jasper?"

"Owwww!" I was writhing on the floor in seconds. "What the hell, Kate? That hurt!"

"Oh, it was nothing. I didn't even zap you at maximum voltage."

"He-he," Charlie was chuckling. "I just wanted to see how her gift worked."

"I swear, if you weren't going to be my future father-in-law..."

"Come on, son. That was fun, we should do it more often."

Charlie and I went back to the basement taking Carlisle with us while Kate went to speak with Tanya.

"We're going to put you back together now Alistair, but I'm going to trust you to do right by us and tell us every detail of your conversation with Edward."

"You have my word. I am a man of honor. Carlisle and Eleazar can confirm this."

Carlisle and I showed Charlie how to reassemble a vampire. It was a useful skill to have. Alistair gritted his teeth while we reattached his legs using our venom. Eleazar came running in with another deer for him.

"How can you survive on this? They taste rancid." He looked up at Carlisle, noticing his crimson eyes. "When did you join our race?"

"It's a long story which I may or may not share with you depending on what you have to say."

"Your son, Edward called me a few weeks ago stating that you were desperately searching for Isabella Marie Swan who you think of as a daughter. He told me that Major Jasper Whitlock wanted to kill her for ruining his relationship with your daughter, Mary Alice Cullen."

"I helped because I didn't want someone that you thought of as a daughter to die."

"That was very honorable of you, but I haven't thought of Edward as my son in over five years. My family dynamics have changed. I am no longer a father figure to anyone, I was too young to be one anyway. I'm content living my life with my mate and my extended family."

"How is Esme anyway?"

"No idea."

"Carlisle?"

"She wasn't my mate. My mate is beautiful, sexy, and..."

"Less matronly, I presume."

"Exactly."

"I always thought that you could do better than Esme. She really exudes...I don't know...overbearing, hen-picking mother—perhaps?"

"Yes, yes, well, let's get on with it. What else did Edward tell you?"

"Well, everything that I explained to these two gentlemen and you. His explanation was very passionate, he made it seem like her life was in imminent danger and informed me that the entire family was out searching for her and that Alice had seen that if the Major found her first, the Volturi would become involved and you, Esme, and your entire family would be destroyed. I couldn't let that happen so I immediately agreed to help. I did explain to them that my gift didn't work like a standard tracker's gift and, therefore, would take a couple of months, but Edward said that he understood that and, this is where it gets strange, he said, 'I've waited this long, it'll make our reunion all the more sweeter.' In hindsight, I probably should have delved more into that statement, but I didn't out of respect for you, Carlisle."

"That statement is a direct reference to the drug, Carlisle," Charlie told him. "I think it's obvious that he'll stop at nothing to get it."

"What drug?" Alistair asked.

"Bells!" Charlie yelled.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Get downstairs."

"Okay."

A minute later, Bella walked slowly downstairs at human speed. She always used human speed for everything, therefore she took much longer than everyone. She could use vampire speed if she wanted to, but she preferred the much slower pace of human speed.

Bella glanced at all of us curiously.

"Alistair, is this the girl that you were seeking?"

"Yes, but she...she's not human."

"No, she's a vampire, she was human when Edward and Alice knew her. I'm her biological father and Jasper is her mate."

"As a human, Bella had the most fragrant blood that I'd ever encountered," Carlisle informed him. "It even tested my control. Bella, unfortunately, was Edward's singer."

Alistair's eyes widened. "He wanted me to find her so he could drain her! How dare he use my power that way!"

"Yes, so you can see why we made the drug reference. Bella is Edward's drug of choice and he'll stop at nothing to get it. His mate Alice is his enabler. She gets her identity from being Edward's mate and she believes that a woman should do whatever it takes to please her mate. She even helped Edward attempt to rape Bella."

"She what? What kind of a vile, twisted woman is this?"

"We have found that she is willing to get the Volturi involved, if necessary. If this happens, we are all in danger."

"My God. I apologize for the part I played in this fiasco. What can I do to help?"

Charlie looked directly into Alistair's eyes and I knew that he was using his gift. "I'm only asking that you remain here and assist in our endeavors; do whatever it takes to keep Isabella safe and throw Alice and Edward off course. Above all, I want you to enjoy your stay and loosen up a bit."

"Of course, I have no problem with your requests."

I was sure that he didn't, Charlie's gift was subtle but powerful. And Alistair was firmly under his control.

We all went upstairs and Kate took Alistair upstairs for 'some new clothes.' Charlie motioned me, Carlisle, and Eleazar outside. We went running deep into the forest.

"I think we can trust him. I used my gift on him just in case," he said.

"He was confused when he first arrived, but I didn't detect an ounce of deception from him; then anger at the end from being used, and finally determination to help us."

"Jasper, I'm curious, after Charlie uses his power, do you detect a change in the recipient's emotions?"

"Actually, yes. The emotions that I described were the ones he felt prior to Charlie using his power. Afterwards, they became stronger—particularly his resolve and determination to assist us. You know, I think that the way that you used your gift subtly helps. He had no idea that you were using your gift on him."

"That's a good thing."

"Jasper, I'm actually concerned about Isabella," Eleazar said. "I don't have to be an empath to know that everyone's emotions are affecting her immensely. She has great control and she seems to be doing her best to withstand the onslaught of emotions, but in the end, this will only hinder her development."

"Are you saying that my daughter has to leave?"

"For her own good, yes. An empathic gift is not an easy one to control, but I think I might have a solution that will meet with everyone's satisfaction."

"What is it?"

"Dotted around Alaska, we own several cabins that the girls use for...um...their...activities."

"And what kind of activities are you talking about?" Charlie asked.

"Carlisle, you tell him."

"Kate, Tanya, and Irina are succubi."

"What's that? It sounds like some sort of exotic vegetable."

"Mythologically, succubi are known as demon women who come down to earth to seduce human men and kill them after they've...um...well, after their business is concluded," Carlisle explained.

"Alright, but I doubt those girls are killers, so what are they really?"

"Really, they're just horny vampire women who like to get it on with human men," I told him.

"Oh, so they're a little slutty and kinky. Lauren's like that. Don't tell Patty, but she was known as the 'In and Out Drive-Thru of Forks.'"

"There's a little more to it than that," Eleazar stepped in. "They have a need to be sexually satisfied so they have a well developed ability to draw in and seduce their prey, so to speak. To make a long story short, because of their special needs, we have many hunting cabins dotted in and around Alaska for their use."

One in particular is located just outside of Denali National Park in Trapper Creek. It's secluded and it's only a twenty minute run from our house. It's close enough to our house, yet far enough for you to be able to help further the development of Bella's gift in private. It will also give the rest of us an opportunity to help with all of the newborns. Honestly, Carlisle, couldn't you just change one at a time instead of six at once?"

Carlisle just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I like a challenge, Eli."

"Does she really have to live away from everyone?" Charlie asked, sadly.

"Yes, it's for her own good as well as everyone else's. If her emotions go out of control, it will be devastating for the newborns. It really isn't that far, the cabin is actually located just outside the southern edge of Denali National Park," Eleazar explained.

"Alright, let's make it happen."

"Thank you, Eleazar."

"You're welcome. Erm, don't let some of the furnishings bother you and you might need to air the place out. Feel free to change things around and make it your home."

"I'm sure that everything will be fine." I couldn't wait to get to the cabin with Bella. She really needed to get away from everyone's emotions and a place just twenty minutes away from Eleazar's house was just the ticket. Hopefully, we'll be able to get everyone under control because we needed them stable, now more than ever with Alice and Edward going above and beyond the realm of crazy. I ran back to Eleazar's house, excited to pack up, and get Bella out of the chaotic environment so her emotions, and mine, could once again be at peace.

**Do you think Alice will go so far as to contact the Volturi in her quest to obtain Isabella for Edward? What did you think of Eleazar's revelation that Charlie will be who the Volturi want? Did you like Tanya's way of dissecting a hot dog? How do you feel about Alistair's revelation that Edward has been using Carlisle's name? And finally, can you understand why Bella has to live away from everyone? I'd love to hear from you and I'll be sure to respond to your review. XOXO mama4dukes**


	14. Chapter 14

**I apologize for the long delay. I had to deal with one physics project, one district chorus audition, one science fair, a school dance, making forty madeleines for my middle schooler's French class, and a finicky fanfiction dot net that decided not to let me log in for two days. Needless to say, my kids needed my attention. By the way, you can thank my husband for the madeleines. I was at the science fair when he signed the permission form and decided on the madeleines for the French Food Festival. He claimed that the recipe seemed fairly straightforward. Why couldn't he just say croissants? I could have just purchased those at Costco? It's not like he can cook. I'm convinced that the festival was an excuse for the French teacher to eat free food for a day. Anyway, my madeleines came out great. Of course, I had to buy a pan, all of the ingredients, and slave in the kitchen until one am on Thursday night while everyone slept. **

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews, I truly do appreciate them. **

**This story is AU/OOC/OTT**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please.**

**Bella's POV**

Jasper and I drove our rental car to Anchorage and returned it to the agency. We ended up purchasing a Toyota Land Cruiser because our stay in Alaska was most likely going to be prolonged. Jasper said that we could either sell the SUV back to the dealer or have it shipped back to Texas, either way, he preferred to have our own vehicle rather than a rental. He was adamant about that. I had him keep his mouth shut and worked the deal again because I felt, through my emotions, that he was about ready to write a check for the sticker price again. I swear he never learns sometimes!

We were now on our way to the cabin in Trapper's Creek where Eleazar offered us solace from being surrounded by everyone's emotions. I was elated when I learned of the cabin because, truth be told, I was becoming frustrated by everyone's mood swings—especially Lauren's and Jessica's. I felt bad because they're my best friends and it wasn't their fault that I was feeling every onslaught of emotion that that they were overcome with, but I truly was at the end of my tether and my control had been waning for the last couple of days.

We arrived after an hour at Trapper's Creek to a nice cabin situated deep in the forest. Looking at it from the outside, I was sure that I'd enjoy it. It seemed like your standard, one-story log cabin, not overly large and with a wrap around covered deck. Eleazar had told us that there was only one bedroom, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. We did know that there was a flat screen TV and that it was fully furnished.

As soon as Jasper stopped the engine, we hopped out of the truck, and walked hand-in-hand at human speed to the front door. With a turn of the key, the front door was unlocked, and with a twist of the handle, the front door swung open. We were immediately assaulted by a pungent odor.

"What is that stink?" I asked Jasper who was immobile on the doorstep with his eyes wide open and his jaw gaping.

He turned to me warily. "Stale pussy juice and sperm." He firmly grasped my hand and, with a look of resolve, we walked inside.

The first thing that we noticed was a humongous bed in the middle of the room with red satin sheets and a billowy black satin comforter. Upon closer inspection, the headboard and footboard had ropes attached to them.

The walls were adorned with poster sized framed photos of Tanya, Irina, and Kate in the nude. There was nothing tasteful about the photos; they weren't boudoir photos, they were straight out of some sort of dirty magazine, and not Playboy either; these photos looked like they came from Hustler or something.

Towards the far, right corner of the expansive room, there was a big, wooden, X-shaped cross secured to the wall. There were leather cuffs attached to it. Hanging to the left of it were various whips, crops, floggers, paddles, and even a cane. Next to that, there was some sort of a padded bench that I was sure was used for spanking.

"Motherfucker!" Jasper gasped as his attention was turned to the left corner of the room. There was a metal cage sitting on the floor that looked like it could house an animal, like a tiger, or in this case a human or two.

"Oh my God," I gasped and looked up at the ceiling where my eyes met with some sort of an elaborate harness system attached to a pulley and mirrors, lots and lots of mirrors. I tapped Jasper on the arm and pointed up. He shuddered at the sight of it and pulled me closer to him.

We walked into the small kitchen off to the side. There was a dorm sized refrigerator filled with bottled water and a sink with dish detergent and a sponge. I opened the cabinet above. Inside were various bottles of sex lube, massage oils, and sex toys such as gags and handcuffs. Curious, I pulled open the two drawers where I found dildos, vibrators, anal plugs, and something that looked like a metal hook with a round ball attached to one end. Next to the sink, there was a front loading, washing machine with a clothes dryer sitting on top of it.

I opened the broom closet behind me and was relieved to find laundry detergent, a mop, bucket, and a bottle of Mr. Clean, but there were also metal restraining devices organized neatly inside. I snapped the door shut and shook my head to clear it.

The last room we investigated was the bathroom. It was the only normal room in the cabin. There was a toilet, a sink, and a walk-in spa shower with eight jets. There was also a very large jacuzzi tub for two surrounded by scented candles on all four corners.

"Bella," he murmured at the same time as I said his name. "Um, you go first."

"No, you."

"Erm...this cabin...is..."

"A bit much?"

"Yeah, I...damn it, Bella. I don't have a problem with whatever sexual lifestyle people choose, but this is...well, it's not me...and...um..."

"It reeks?"

"Yes! I can smell Tanya, Irina, and Kate all over it. I think we're going to have to rent out a place on our own. This is just too..."

We were interrupted by Tanya and Kate walking into the cabin.

"Well, what do you think?" Kate asked.

"It's different," I replied.

"Yes! Isn't it great? Tanya, Irina, and I designed it ourselves."

"Bella, look," Tanya motioned pulling some sort of a wooden frame out of the closet. "You can use this too."

"Um, what is it?"

She and Kate grabbed Jasper, knelt him to the pad that was the base, stuck his head and hands through two curved, indentations in the wood, and brought down the top to secure him in. Kate grabbed a metal spreader bar and locked his feet into it.

"It's a portable stockade!" Tanya exclaimed.

My jaw dropped. "J...Jasper?"

"Bells?" he pleaded worriedly.

"Thank you for showing me. You can release him now."

"Yep, in a sec, I just want to show you how this is used."

"No...no...really, it's not...holy shit!"

Tanya started smacking Jasper's ass with her bare hand. Kate tossed a wooden paddle to her and she started whacking him.

"Um, um, honey!" I sat directly in front of Jasper who was grimacing in pain.

"This is great! Jasper's not human so we can spank him with full force!"

"Oh my goodness. Um, please, can you...um...Tanya...I understand how it's used now. You can let him go."

"Oh, good, here, let me give him one more spanking." _Whack! _"That's better. How do you feel Jasper? Did that make you aroused?"

"Are you insane?" Jasper snapped. "Get me the fuck out of this device!"

"You're such a poop. Fine!"

While Tanya was releasing him, Kate was explaining the details of the cross to me.

"It's called a St. Andrew's Cross. This particular one is made out of mahogany, we had our supplier pad it with fine red leather. Now, there are five restraining points: wrists, ankles, and waist." And before I knew it, I was secured to the cross with my back to the wall. Kate continued with her explanation. "I like to use the flogger. I start out slow with soft spanks."

"Ooh! Ow! Um! Jasperrrr!"

Jasper tried to hop over to me with his ankles still restrained in the metal spreader bar. He toppled over, face first and landed with a thud on the floor.

An oblivious Kate, kept going with her explanation, this time grabbing a riding crop and swatting my inner thighs. "You know, this is really much easier naked."

"No! No! Show me with my clothes on...really...it's okay."

"Well, if you say so, but you won't get the full effect. Your pussy is inaccessible so I won't be able to fuck you with a dildo."

"You can always use the clit vibrator, Katie," Tanya suggested. "Do you want me to get it?"

"Good idea, get the Magic Wand."

"Really, I truly understand how to..."

A ball gag was strapped onto my face by Kate. "You really do talk a lot, don't you?"

"Mmmuuurrrrghh!" I screamed.

"I'm coming, honey!" Jasper called, trying his best to stand up. "Um, Tanya, would you please release me from this spreader bar?"

"Sure thing, Jasper, right after I plug this vibrator in."

"No! Really, it's not necessary. Tanya! Kate!"

Tanya approached me with a huge vibrator that had a fist sized white ball on the end. It looked like a massager and was buzzing loudly. Kate was now back to flogging me while Tanya inched closer to me with the vibrator—the head was rotating in a sinister way ready to attack my privates.

"Mmmuuuurrrrrppppphhhhhggggg!" I screeched.

"Shit! Baby, I'm coming!" Jasper started crawling to me as best as he could with his feet still locked into the steel contraption. "Shield!"

I instantly lifted my physical shield up to protect myself from being flogged by Kate and violated by Tanya with the king sized vibrator.

"Put your shield down, Bella! How am I supposed to teach you anything?"

"Ooh! This is going to be fun!" Kate handed Tanya the flogger, ran to her closet and returned with something. Before we knew it, she had a leash and collar attached to Jasper and she was tapping his ass with a riding crop.

"No! Kate! I don't want to play. Let me go! Let Bella go!"

Suddenly, we heard the sound of footsteps shuffling into the room.

"Oh, Pete! This is so not fair! How come Jasper and Bella get to play?" Lauren complained.

"Would you like to play with us? Jasper and Bella aren't any fun," Tanya said.

"Well, hello ladies." Peter wagged his eyebrows at Tanya and Kate. "Why don't you release the Major and his mate and you can show us all of your fine furnishings. I'm game for a demonstration."

Jasper and I were immediately released. Lauren was already stripping her clothes off and Pete was undoing his jeans.

"Thank you for...um...the instruction." Jasper threw me over his shoulder, caveman style, and bolted out of the cabin and into our vehicle. He started the ignition and floored it away from the den of inequities.

"We are so not staying there!" I huffed.

"Bells, I'm in complete agreement with you, that place is nuts and the owners are even nuttier."

"Jasper, Tanya came after me with a power tool designed to induce orgasms. It came with a cord! It wasn't even battery operated! I have no problem with sex toys, but that thing looked like it came from the hardware store not a sex store!"

"I know, baby. I know. She locked me into a spreader bar! I tried to snap the metal, but I couldn't. What the hell was that made out of?"

"I don't know," I whimpered.

"Let's find a place to stay and we'll figure something out." He pulled me onto his lap and drove the rest of the way in that position. Both of us were still freaked out about what we both had to endure at the hands of Tanya and Kate and the proximity was making us feel better.

We came across a motel about twenty minutes into our drive. At this point, we just wanted some peace and quiet. We quickly secured a room and plopped down onto the bed. Jasper switched on the TV and pulled me into his arms.

"I want to go home, Jasper."

"I know you do, baby. So do I, but we can't do shit until we get this Volturi mess taken care of. We need numbers and we need Eleazar."

"What are we going to do about a place to stay?"

"I'm not sure yet. We're not staying at any of the Denalis' cabins and we're not staying at the main house either. How are your emotions?"

"They're okay now. I think this motel is nearly vacant."

"It is," he whispered. "Shh...listen, use your heightened senses. How many heartbeats can you hear?"

I stayed as still as possible and concentrated. "Two on the far end of the motel and one a couple of doors down."

"That's right, baby. The front office is two doors down and there are two heartbeats coming from that direction." He pointed to the left. "Good girl. You're getting there." He kissed me softly on the lips. I deepened the kiss and he responded appreciatively. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, Jasper."

**XOXO**

A week later, Jasper and I were finally settled into an RV in the middle of the wilderness, about ten miles from the Denali's main house. Eleazar, after hearing what happened to Jasper and me, urged my father to use his gift and issue the command to everyone that, under no circumstances, were they allowed to visit us without calling first. He was extremely apologetic about what he called Tanya and Kate's 'enthusiastic demonstration' and he was concerned about my emotional adjustment.

Our temporary living space was purchased from a used RV dealer in Wasilla. It was practically new. The RV was used for only two weeks during the summer five years ago so it barely had any miles on it. Apparently, it was owned by an eccentric millionaire who became ill and unable to travel shortly after he purchased it. We got an excellent deal on it because the dealer didn't normally deal with luxury RV's and he just wanted to get rid of it. It had everything we needed and more: a king sized bed, a deluxe living room, a washer and dryer, a full shower, and a jacuzzi. It also had a kitchen, but Jasper and I ripped it out and were currently working on expanding the living room. We didn't need it, after all. The RV also featured a satellite dish and internet connection.

"Bella, we should practice using your gift. I want to see what you can send out to me."

"Okay, can I finish reading this chapter first? I only have two pages to go."

The washer buzzed just then. I moved to get up. "Finish your chapter. I'll transfer the clothes into the dryer."

"Thanks."

I quickly finished reading and turned the iPad off. Jasper and I decided that while we were here, we needed to do e-books as much as possible in the interest of saving space.

"Bells?"

"What is it, Jasper?" I walked over to the dryer because he was still new at the laundry thing.

"Does this sweater go into the dryer?"

"No, you want to lay that out flat."

"Okay, what about this jacket?"

"That can go inside, it's made out of fleece."

"Do you see anything else that needs to be hung dry?"

"My bras, Jasper. They'll lose their shape if you put them in the dryer."

"I think you told me that the last time."

"Yeah, but it takes a while to get a hang of laundry." I picked through the laundry and took out the two bras that were in there. I checked the lint filter to make sure it was clear. Of course not. "Jasper, honey?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to make sure that you clean the lint filter each time you put clothes in the dryer."

"Got it." He wrapped his arms around me. "I'd be lost without you."

I switched the dryer on before turning my attention to him. "And I'd be drowning without you."

"Well, that's good. That means we need each other." He kissed me on the forehead and led me to the sofa. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to name an emotion and I want you to send it to me gradually. I want you to work on controlling the flow of it. It's very important to be subtle with the gift. When I put my hand up, you can slowly ease up on that feeling, then I'll give you a new one."

I nodded my head indicating that I understand.

"Okay, fear."

I thought about the time when I was nearly raped by my ex-boyfriend in Seattle. To me, that was scarier than the time I was attacked by Edward and Alice. Taking in a deep breath, I gradually sent Jasper the fear that I felt then. Jasper was soon shivering and curled up in the fetal position. He put his hand up to stop me.

"That was good, Bella. Now send me anger. I thought about the time I saw Tyler breaking up with Lauren so callously back in high school. The rage that I felt then was coupled with my fury at Edward so it was enormous. Jasper's face started contorting in rage. I actually began to fear for my life. He put his hand up to stop me and I eased up on the emotion.

"I'm sorry, baby, I know I scared you there."

"It's okay, I knew it was all in the name of training."

He nodded his head. "Sadness."

I sent him the feelings I felt when my maternal grandmother died. She was my favorite grandmother and she loved me like no other. By time Jasper put his hand up to stop me, he had venom tears rimming his eyes.

"Gratitude."

That one was easy. It was how I felt on a daily basis about Jasper, about my father, about my friends. About everyone really.

"Alright, that one was too easy. Jealousy."

I had to stop to think. Hmm...I can't think of anything. I could never see the point in being jealous about anything so I had no idea what it felt like.

"Come on, Bells. I'm waiting."

"I'm trying. I've never been jealous before."

"Well, is there something that you've always wanted, but couldn't have because you didn't have enough money?"

"Nope."

"Uh, how about wanting the hot guy at school, but your friend got him instead."

"Why would I want to be with anyone that wanted someone else?"

"Okay, how did you feel when you had to drive around in your crappy red truck and you saw all of the Cullens in their fancy new cars?"

I sent him my initial feelings on that matter.

"Revulsion? Gratitude? Really, Bella?"

"Yeah, I couldn't see the point in owning such fancy vehicles and I was disgusted by them. Then, I was grateful that my dad didn't spoil me and purchased an old, classic, rusty truck for me. I sure miss that truck. Well, I don't miss how the engine kept puttering out in the end."

"Huh, interesting. Okay, I know how we'll do this. Now that you're with me and you know what it's like to be my mate, I want you to think about how you'd feel if Alice and I were still together."

"So, you want me to imagine what it would be like to want you, knowing that I could never have you."

"Exactly."

A whole bunch of emotions cropped up: anger, sadness, fear, resentment, and disgust. Jasper's face and body started reacting to all of those emotions. He put his hand up to stop me.

"Perfect, Bella. Now send me joy."

I thought about being with Jasper and was smiling within seconds.

"Humor."

For that I just thought of Pete and his antics. I also thought of Jess and her Hello Kitty obsession. Jasper was clutching his stomach and laughing when his hand went up.

"Lust."

That one was too easy. All I had to do was think of _Jasper in the shower; Jasper doing yard work—shirtless at our house in Texas; Jasper taking me up against the wall of our bedroom; Jasper ripping my clothes off and abruptly..._

I found myself being picked up and thrown onto our bed. My clothes were ripped off of me and my mate had me strewn spread-eagle on the mattress. He ripped his own clothes off of himself and trained his pitch-black, lust filled eyes on me.

"You'd better be thinking about me, my mate."

"You know that you're the only man that's on my mind," I purred to him and crawled on my hands and knees until I was facing his erection. I took him into my mouth and worked my tongue up and down the length, sucking on the tip from time to time. Jasper was gasping for unneeded to breath. He abruptly pulled away and flipped me onto my hands and knees so that my bottom was at the edge of the bed, facing him.

I kept sending him lust as he pushed himself inside of my arousal coated passage. He grasped onto my hips and pulled me to him with each thrust so that he could penetrate deeper, harder. His pace was hard and fast. I was being overcome by need, want, desire, and ecstasy. No man could make me feel the way that Jasper could.

I was sent to a new level of passion when he grasped onto my hair with one hand causing my back to arch up. His other hand teased my nipples sending a scintillating feeling throughout my body. I rocked my hips into him wanting more, my lust level was at an all time high.

With each thrust, I was being driven closer and closer to the precipice. I knew that Jasper was nearly there, he was readying himself to sink his teeth into my flesh. His teeth were already lined up at my mark and he was licking, sucking, feasting on my neck as if it were some sort of a banquet. He knew how it drove me insane with ecstasy.

I was so close, oh so close. Jasper was keeping up with his strong, unrelenting pace and I was succumbing to the motion, allowing him to take me to paradise. He thrust into me one final time—hard, deep, penetrating, and I shattered all over him just as his teeth broke my skin, releasing his venom into both my neck and my womb.

I had to laugh when his hand snaked in front of my face indicating that I should stop feeding him lust. I forgot that we were in the middle of a lesson.

"That's enough for the day, baby. You get an 'A' for today's lesson," he chuckled as he kissed me on the lips dipping his tongue into my mouth for a taste.

Sated, we collapsed onto the bed together and snuggled in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking.

A few minutes later, Jasper's cell phone vibrated.

"Yeah, Pete?"

"_What the hell were you guys doing? Projecting lust together? The whole fucking house suddenly went horny. Alistair had to fuck both Kate and Tanya."_

"Nope, that was just Bella."

"_Just Bella?"_

"Yeah, I was training her to use her powers."

"_Let me ask you something. Did you have her send out fear, anger, sadness, gratitude, jealousy, joy, humor, and lust?"_

"Yeah, why?"

"_I'm just testing a theory man, have her send some humor to you."_

"Bella, send some humor my way, would you? Just like you did earlier."

I gradually sent out some humor to my mate. Within seconds, he was clutching his stomach and howling in laughter. I could also hear raucous laughter through the cell phone. Jasper held his hand up and I tapered off the humor.

After he recovered, Pete came back on the line. _"Jasper, now you do it. Bella just feel his emotion."_

It took exactly twenty seconds for me to start giggling for no reason whatsoever. I couldn't stop no matter what I tried to do. The people over at the main house were laughing too.

"_Major, stop please!"_ Peter rasped out between laughing. He regained his composure. _"Now, both of you send out humor to each other."_

Jasper quickly jotted a note down and held it up to me. _"Concentrate on the Denali house and send the humor out towards it. Do it on three,"_ it read.

When Jasper mouthed three I sent out as much humor as I could and tried to project it out and away from the RV. I could hear crazed laughter over the cell phone.

"_Shit, you guys, stop!"_ Peter chortled. He was gasping for breath laughing. _"I think we can say for sure that both of you can project further than you thought. That was ten miles."_

"You've got a point there, Pete."

"_So, when are you coming up to the main house for a visit?"_

"Not today. I need to take Bella for a hunt." He stroked his thumb under my eyes. "We haven't hunted since we've arrived in Denali and she's still a newborn."

"_Geez, Jasper! Em and I've taken our mates on three hunts already."_

"I know, Pete. Don't worry, I've got her."

"_Alright, we'll see you tomorrow."_

"Yeah." _Click._

"Jasper? Are we really going on a hunt?"

"Yes, we can't keep putting it off. You know damn well that your control is beginning to wane."

"I know, it's just the thought of animals...they make me cringe."

"We ain't hunting animals, sweet thing. We're not staying in the main house. We have our own place and you need to keep your strength up. Animal blood isn't going to cut it."

"Well, where the heck are we going to hunt humans in Alaska?"

"Bells, Anchorage has one of the highest rates of forcible rapes and sexual assault in the United States. It won't be a problem to find a deviant." He gave me a peck on the lips. "Now go and pack our supplies."

"Can we make love one more time?" I asked, pouting my lips and giving him an innocent look. He sent me a ton of lust and pounced. I had a feeling that we weren't going to be hunting until tomorrow night at the very least.

**What did you think of the cabin and the experience that followed? Tanya and Kate are nice, but kind of clueless and horny. Did you like Jasper's idea of purchasing an RV? Do you think his empath lessons are adequate? How about Pete's discovery that J and B can project their emotions at least ten miles? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. I look forward to writing back to you. We're getting into the heavy stuff after this chapter everyone. XOXO mama4dukes**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Hello everyone, I'm back. I need to apologize for my month long unintentional hiatus, I was hit with everything from sick kids (pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections-you name it, the kids had it) to my son's middle school production of High School Musical to a 3D model of an animal cell made out of food. No, the last one is not a joke-it was a real nightmare. Please be aware that sometimes life truly gets in the way and I'm unable to turn my attention to fanfiction. If there ever is another long break, you can be sure that it's because something got in the way. I love writing and I appreciate, from the bottom of my heart, that I have such wonderful readers that care enough to send me messages worried about my well being, as well as, my family's. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so caring and so patient.**_

_**I have another issue that I'd like to bring up with you. Over the weekend, a very vigilant reader named Missymumu, sent me a message stating that she discovered that You'll Find What You're Looking For At Walmart had been blatantly stolen and posted, word for word, on another site under a different title. I was devastated at the news, but very grateful to Missymumu for informing me of the news. From that point on, it literally took an army of fanfiction readers and writers alike to assist me in getting the story and the plagiarist removed from the site. It didn't end there though. In the process of urging the site to remove my story, it was discovered that six other stories by different authors had been copied and pasted on various sites under different titles. One story was copied and pasted on two different sites by different plagiarists.**_

_**Plagiarism is a serious issue. It makes a mockery out of fanfiction readers and writers alike and can be especially disheartening for the author whose work was stolen. In addition, plagiarism is against the law and considered to be theft of intellectual property and copyright infringement. I doubt that the plagiarizers realize the severity of their actions.**_

_**At this time, I'd like to ask readers and writers alike to be vigilant of fanfiction theft. If you notice a story has been blatantly stolen, inform the owner of the story so he or she can decide how to proceed. I'm confident that with awareness, we can conquer this vicious evil and make fanfiction a safe and happy place that all of us can enjoy.**_

_**There are several people that I need to thank for their assistance this weekend: Bell1 and NCChris for tackling the issue head on and helping me to get my story removed, Missymumu for alerting me to the situation, and the dozens of readers and writers who came to my aid and contacted the administration of the offending site. Thank you, I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in the world of fanfiction.**_

_**And now, on to the story...**_

_**This story is AU/OOC/OTT**_

_**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**_

_**Mature readers 18+ only please.**_

**Demetri's POV**

_**Ten days later...**_

I was sent on an odd mission by Aro ten days ago. He had received a missive from Carlisle Cullen and was asked to search for a human female by the name of Isabella Marie Swan whose life was apparently in danger due to an odd obsession for her blood by Major Jasper Whitlock. I was suspicious of the story from the get-go, but Aro didn't bother confirming it—instead, he immediately ordered that I leave Volterra to search for the girl.

I asked how I was supposed to search for her when I had no idea of the girl's essence. Aro, then, gave me a pair of her panties which had been stored in a plastic zip bag.

"_Master, you can't be serious? Surely, you don't expect me to sniff her panties. Why is Carlisle Cullen in possession of them anyway?"_

"_Demetri, you will do as you are told. Her scent is absolutely mouthwatering. We've all taken a whiff of her undergarment."_

"_Of course," _I replied. _ "I shall take in her scent and search for her immediately. Where is her last known residence?"_

"_Washington State."_

"_Ah, I shall begin my search forthwith. You do understand that it may take me longer than usual to find her since I've never encountered her."_

"_Absolutely, take your time. There is no rush at all and call us for further orders once you locate her."_

"_Certainly. I shall feed then begin my journey." _

Here I am, ten days later completely at a loss. The human seems to have disappeared off of the face of the earth. I decided to pay Eleazar Denali a visit. He's always been close to Carlisle Cullen and perhaps, would have met the human. I also had ulterior motives, I needed a release and the succubus sisters would always be willing to satisfy that need for me. I was roughly fifteen miles away from their house, in the middle of the woods when I was overcome by a sudden surge of lust. It was so powerful that I found myself unzipping my pants and removing my member from it's confines. I immediately started dreaming of the Denali sisters while I released the tension.

Four hours later, I was still jerking off. I had cum so many times that I wasn't sure if I had any venom left in me, but I still had to keep going. Over and over again, I stroked my dick, dreaming of Tanya Denali when, suddenly, the lust increased tenfold and I pulled so hard that I started screaming in agony. I looked down and realized that my penis was no longer attached to me. Shit! What the hell am I going to do? I desperately tried to reattach it, but I didn't have enough venom left. I was dried out. After about an hour of failing miserably at surgery, I refastened my pants, carefully wrapped my member in handkerchief, placed it in my pocket, and ran as fast as my legs would take me to the Denali residence.

**Jasper's POV**

"Bellaaaaaaaa!" I screamed before I sunk my teeth into her neck. We had just had a four hour session of mating and the two of us were completely spent. "I can never get enough of you."

"Mmm...same here. Lick the mark a little more. It makes it feel better," my mate cooed.

I did as she asked then kissed her on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you. That was just incredible. Do you think we were projecting?"

"Without a doubt. We were in the middle of a lesson, you know."

"Oh, you are the best teacher."

"I've got a teaching certificate from Dartmouth."

"An Ivy League School. No wonder you're so talented." She planted kisses all over my face. "We should take a quick shower and make our way over to the main house."

"No, no shower. I want my scent all over you and mine all over yours."

"Whatever you say, Professor Whitlock." She licked my neck over the mark she had given me earlier.

I purred and gently bit down on her nipples before kissing her again. I flipped my vixen over on my knees, spanked her bottom, then said, "Come on, baby. We can make love again later. Let's go up to the main house. We were supposed to be there two hours ago."

She pouted sweetly at me, then smiled, as she got out an outfit for me—then herself, from the closet. We got dressed and ran to the main house. Walking inside, we heard a ton of showers in operation. It was clear that we had projected our lust, the entire house reeked of cum.

"Maybe we should air the place out? I don't mind smelling ourselves, but others...ew!" Bella commented.

"Yeah, no shit. Let's open up all of the windows and Lysol the place. Maybe we should go back to our place and have a shower too."

"Yeah. We quickly opened the windows and doused the house with Lysol. We were about to return to our place for a shower when we heard a loud thump outside. I took Bella's hand and slowly opened up the front door. Lying on the doorstep was a vampire in his early twenties reeking of cum. He held out his hand to us and croaked out the words, "Help me."

I immediately picked him up and carried him into the house, placing him on the sofa. Just then, a freshly showered Carlisle came strolling down the stairs with Angela in tow.

"Jasper?" he asked concerned.

"I found this man collapsed on the front steps. He's lost a lot of venom."

"This is Demetri—tracker for the Volturi. We need to replenish his venom. Perhaps one animal for now," he suggested. I agreed wholeheartedly with Carlisle. We wouldn't give this man human blood or too much blood of any kind for now. If he was with the Volturi, we needed him weak. I ran upstairs and grabbed Charlie, I needed to touch bases with him while hunting for an animal. I also whispered to Laurent to keep the house well-shielded. Bella and Charlie were coming with me to find an animal.

The three of us went running out into the woods. Charlie and I dove in and fed from deer to replenish our own stores before hunting for Demetri.

"Young lady, you need to feed as well," Charlie told Bella.

"No way, Daddy, haven't you heard of lyme disease."

"Bella, you're a vampire."

"I'm not killing an innocent animal!"

"Bella!" Charlie and I both chastised. My stubborn mate threw her physical shield around herself.

"I saw Bambi, you know! Do you realize that the two deer that you have are someone's offspring."

"I'm about to fucking off my offspring, if you don't get to feeding now, young lady. You need your strength!" Charlie chastised.

"Fine, I'll find a predator. No mountain lions though. Those are Fuckward's favorite."

"Bella, we don't have time for..."

Bella suddenly went whirring past us. She dove onto the back of a bear and snapped it's neck. She dragged it to a nearby stream and carefully washed it's neck before sinking her teeth into it's artery.

All the while, her father and I stared at her with our mouths hanging open. "You didn't expect me to feed from him before cleaning him up did you?"

"This is your fault, Charlie! You raised her to be this way!"

"My fault? She was brought up by her mother mostly and I can tell you with confidence that Renee is a fucking slob!"

"Yeah, well, she's completely anal about her food. Why is that?"

"It's my ex-mother-in-law's fault. She was a goddamned clean freak when she was alive!"

We both glared at Bella who had the nerve to turn her nose up at us.

"Better safe than sorry," she humphed with her arms crossed in front of her.

I grabbed a passing deer and we made our way back to the Denali home. "Charlie, I think you should interrogate the man. Clearly, he's been tracking Bella. We all know not to say a word about your gift. If necessary, bring him on to our side. Get him talking."

"Alright, I will. What do you know about him?"

"I know that the Volturi has a female vampire, named Chelsea, that can make and break bonds. I'm sure that his bond to the Volturi is fabricated. I wonder if you can undo that bond somehow with your gift."

"I'll give it a whirl."

"Bella, you're to stay by Peter's side the whole time. Shields up. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Jasper."

"Alright, let's do this."

We started running back to the main house. We calmly walked inside with the deer. Peter pulled Bella to his side immediately. He sat on a large armchair off to the corner of the room with both Bella and Lauren on his lap. His arms protectively around the two girls.

I approached Demetri with the deer, presenting it's artery to him. He latched on immediately and, after draining it, he spoke. "Carlisle, I need your assistance. I have a medical problem."

He's damn right, he needs medical assistance. The fucking guy is walking around reeking like cum and he's alone. I don't smell any pussy on him anywhere. If you ask me, he has an addiction to self-lovin'.

Demetri reached into his pocket and pulled something wrapped in a handkerchief out of it. "Please?" he begged.

Carlisle took the handkerchief and unwrapped it. Yep, I was right, he was a case of self-lovin' gone too far. The handkerchief contained a totally erect penis. Everyone zeroed in on the penis. Off to the corner of the room, Peter had his hands clasped over both Bella's and Lauren's mouths while my mate clasped her hand over his. The three of them were wide-eyed and struggling to maintain their composure.

"What happened?" Carlisle questioned.

"I was about fifteen miles away from this house when I was hit with an incredible surge of lust. I couldn't stop masturbating for a full four hours. Suddenly, the lust peaked in intensity and, before I knew it, I found that I had detached my penis from my body. I tried to reattach it, but I had no venom left due to my previous ejaculations."

Everyone's attention turned to me and Bella now. Okay, so maybe we were projecting. And maybe this guy didn't have a problem with chronic masturbation. But who the hell would be stupid enough to jerk off their own dick?

"Ahem, well, I can help you with your issue Demetri. Perhaps we should move you into the kitchen for more privacy."

"Thank you," a relieved Demetri said.

As soon as he was moved, Lauren opened her mouth. "Did you see how big that guy's dick was?"

"Oh, it's beautiful," Tanya commented. "Hopefully, it's fully operational after Carlisle reattaches it. I love playing with it."

"Tanya, maybe he'd agree to allowing us to make a plaster cast of his penis and we can have silicone dildos of his penis made," Kate suggested.

"That's sick!" Jessica stated. "Why are you two so addicted to sex and sex toys?"

"We're succubi, we can't help it. We need and crave sex constantly. We need it more than venom."

We suddenly heard an agonized screaming coming from the kitchen.

"Jasper, get the hell in here! I can't get to his testicles with him moving around like this." Carlisle called.

I zipped into the kitchen, where Demetri was thrashing on the dining table. I knocked him out completely so that Carlisle could do his work. He was finished in no time. Meanwhile, Charlie came into the room and relieved the tracker of all of his belongings. He carried a cell phone, a pair of panties in a ziploc bag, and a wallet with a Visa Black Card, and ten one hundred dollar bills. He also had a messenger bag which contained an iPad, two changes of clothing, and roughly forty thousand dollars in cash.

An hour later, I slowly woke him up. Charlie, Carlisle, Eleazar, and I surrounded him. The others stayed in the living room.

Demetri reached down and felt his privates. Seeing that his penis was reattached, he let out a sigh of relief.

"So, what brings you to Denali, my friend?" Eleazar asked.

"I was actually coming to see you. I was sent on a mission to find the owner of..." He reached into his pocket and saw that it was empty. "Um, I was sent on a mission to find a human girl named Isabella Swan. She is apparently the owner of the panties in the plastic bag that you've taken from me."

"And who sent you on this mission?"

"Actually, Aro was doing a favor for Carlisle here."

"I didn't ask Aro for a favor," Carlisle said.

"Yes, you did. You sent a missive to him containing a letter and the panties. Apparently, Major Whitlock thirsts for her blood. He is wanted by the Volturi now."

"Demetri, I am Major Jasper Whitlock. Isabella Swan is my mate."

"What's going on? How come..."

"Calm down, Demetri," Charlie interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I do need to calm down." It was clear that Charlie had used his gift on him.

"Why don't we spend some time getting to know each other. I'm sure you've been cooped up in that castle for a while. A man like you, a tracker, must crave freedom? You must feel stifled. I'd like to hear you say to us how you really feel about your life with your masters."

"I do crave freedom, but I'm bonded to my masters. It's been a miserable thousand years."

"Oh, I'm sure. I would hate to feel as if I were under lock and key. Why didn't you just escape?"

"I couldn't, Chelsea has me bonded securely to my masters."

"And what gives Chelsea the right to bond you to people that you don't even want to serve?"

Jesus, my future father-in-law is a goddamned genius. He has Demetri clearly under his control. I decided to send Demetri a bit of confidence right here.

"She has a gift, she can create loyalty bonds."

"Loyalty bonds."

"And why does she make these fabricated bonds?"

"She is frightened. Her mate, Afton, is not very powerful. They constantly threaten his life lest she do their bidding."

"Who are they?"

"Well, really it's just Aro and Caius. Marcus is under her spell too."

"That's too bad, I don't think you feel any loyalty to them anymore, do you?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I have a mind to take them all down. What gives them the right to control people's lives."

Oh shit. I looked up at Carlisle and Eleazar and they had a look of fear on their faces.

"You want to be free like us, don't you, Demetri? You don't feel any sort of connection at all to the Volturi, do you?"

"No, but I want to get my friends out of there. Heidi, Felix, Afton, and Chelsea shouldn't have to serve those scum."

"It seems we need to help Marcus as well."

"Yes, yes, we need him. He wields as much power, if not more than Aro and Caius."

How the fuck did Charlie just twist this interrogation? He was supposed to remove the bond Chelsea created, not create a mutinous vampire. I think he's seriously hell bent on taking down the Volturi, unfortunately, Peter, Garrett, and Randall are one hundred percent behind him and now he has Demetri on his side.

"This is good, Demetri. Now when are the kings expecting a call from you?"

"Not for a couple of months. They know that it will take me longer to locate the girl since I've never met her."

"Good, why don't you hold off on contacting them until we tell you to. Just enjoy yourself here. Have a good time."

"I think I will. Thank you. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Charlie. Isabella's father."

"Oh, well, you can return her panties to her." Demetri turned to Carlisle. "How did you come in possession of them anyway? She has a delightful scent."

"I didn't take the panties, Demetri. Two of my former coven members did."

"Demetri, you do understand that anything that we discuss in this house is to remain private, don't you?"

"Of course, I do, Charlie. You and I are going to be great friends."

"I can see that. Now, why don't I introduce you to everyone else and you can tell us all more about the Volturi."

Charlie put his arm around Demetri and led him out to the living room. He turned his head to us, flashed us a brilliant smile, and wagged his eyebrows at us.

Here's the thing, Charlie might have influenced Demetri, but really the only thing he did was get him to tell us how he really felt about the Volturi. Demetri's true feelings are what broke the fabricated bond that Chelsea created.

As soon as we got out to the living room. Tanya barreled into Demetri's arms.

"Oh, I missed you, Dem...I...I...oh my God...how come we didn't notice this before?"

"I have no idea."

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"They're mates," Charlotte whispered.

"How could that be? We've seen Demetri numerous times throughout his thousand years of existence. How is it possible?"

"I think it's because Demetri's fabricated bond to the Volturi has been broken," Eleazar surmised.

"The Volturi are breaking their own laws." Garrett punched the coffee table, splitting it in two. "It's a crime to intentionally keep mates away from each other."

"How do you know if it was intentional though?"

"The fact that they had Chelsea fabricate a loyalty bond between Demetri and the three kings makes it intentional. They must be taken out of commission."

"Here, here!" Alistair agreed.

Oh great, now Alistair has jumped ship and joined the resident anarchists.

"You know the Volturi sound like fucking dictators to me. Why the hell should we have to answer to their beck and call? They've been in power long enough!"

"That's my girl," Charlie said proudly.

Oh my God, now my mate has joined the rebellion. And if she's joined the bandwagon then...

"Yeah!" Lauren did a fist pump followed by a whoop from Angela.

"I agree, there's no reason why these absolute monarchs should be allowed to rule. I mean over three thousand years is long enough," Jessica piped in.

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! Once my mate jumped into the fray, her best friends were sure to follow.

"We should rip all of their heads off!" Tanya added. "I could have had a mate one thousand years ago!"

"Love, we need to plan this carefully," Demetri said.

"Um, excuse me, Demetri?" Bella said.

"Yes, lovely lady."

"Oh, well, I mean...lovely? Thanks...haha...ahem...please don't use the term, 'love,' as a term of endearment. Edward used to call me 'love' and it leaves a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach."

"Don't call me, 'love,' Demetri. Call me anything, but that. I don't like Edward either," Tanya agreed.

"Alright, how about 'my dove?'"

"Um, no, it's too...well damn it, that sounds like something out of one of Shakespeare's sonnets."

"Geez, just call her 'tigress' or 'vixen' or 'babe' like the rest of us!" Laurent yelled. "Now are we really taking down the Italian fuckers? Sorry, Demetri, no offense."

"It's okay, I'm Greek."

"Well, good."

"I'm part Italian," Charlie said. "On my mother's side."

"Okay, let's be politically correct here. Are we really taking down the pasty motherfuckers?"

"Um, that's kind of globalizing, dear. We're all pasty," Victoria said.

"Are we taking down the gloomy, pasty motherfuckers?"

"That's a little better."

"How do you all make decisions with all of these interruptions?" Demetri asked.

"Oh, we manage. By the way, I'm glad that you're Tanya's mate. My cock was getting tired from servicing both Kate and Tanya," Alistair informed him.

"Uh, thank you for keeping her happy."

"Not a problem at all."

Uh-huh, I'm sure it wasn't. Alistair, who Carlisle has described as being gloomy, has been walking around with a shit-eating grin on his face since he arrived in Denali—no doubt because Tanya and Kate have been getting kinky with him. I'm sure that Bella and I haven't helped either since we project whenever we make love—which could be all day sometimes. Thank God she's no longer human, I hated the week when she had her period. Not only did she smell particularly delicious, I'd be walking around with a hard on the whole week.

"Why don't we all sit and discuss the situation?" Carlisle suggested.

"Yes, I think that might be a good idea. You mentioned that former coven members of yours sent the missive. Why on earth would they do that?"

So we explained Edward's obsession with Bella's blood to Demetri and the fact that they used to date.

"He's psychotic! How did he obtain a pair of your underpants anyway?"

"Pardon me?" Bella questioned, completely aghast.

Charlie held up the plastic bag containing Bella's panties. "Are these yours?"

Bella opened the bag and took out the pair of pink bikini panties with red hearts all over them. "Hey, I was looking for these. They went missing around the time of my junior prom."

"Bella, have any other pieces of your clothing gone missing?"

"Well, yeah. Alice replaced my whole wardrobe before you all left Forks. Remember, Daddy?"

"How could I forget...I had to spend a whole Saturday doing female stuff with you and I missed a fishing trip. Do you realize how much my credit card statement came to the next month? That little twit, Alice, cost me over a thousand dollars, plus I had to pay for gas to and from Seattle!"

"Charlie, why didn't you just take her to the Silverdale Mall?" Pat asked.

"I didn't think of that."

"Bella?" Pat questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't want to go there because that's where Malice dragged me to whenever she wanted to dress me up."

"It wasn't that bad, we got to eat some really good Mexican food and I picked up a new fishing rod," Charlie said. "Besides, I didn't want my little girl walking around Forks in high heels and silk dresses. She would have looked like a fool."

"You've got that right. Alice looked like she raped the pages of Vogue Magazine," Emmett agreed. "Charlie, we all had to replace our wardrobes after we got rid of the four idiots. Edward and Jasper were walking around Forks High School in dress shoes."

"How come you wore sneakers, Em?" Bella asked.

"I always made sure that gym class was one of my first scheduled classes and didn't bother changing out of them afterwards. It annoyed the fuck out of Alice and Rose."

"Why the hell didn't I think of that?" I mused out loud.

"I think the question is, why the hell did you repeat high school over and over again?"

"That would be Carlisle's fault. He wanted to make it look like we were a human family."

"Yeah, that sure worked. You guys were the freaks of Forks High School," Lauren commented.

"Did we really stick out that much?" I asked.

"Um, Jasper, you looked like you were in pain, you guys never ate, and you never hung out with the rest of us. On top of that, you were all dating each other. We thought you guys were incestuous freaks," Jess informed us.

"Hey, I only met them once on the mountain and I thought they were freaks—and I'm a vampire," Vicky added. "Can I just say that aside from Emmett, the rest of the vampires were wearing high heels and dress shoes while playing baseball?"

"That's very odd. We even wear sneakers in the Volturi when we need to run," Demetri commented.

I looked down at his feet and noticed that he was wearing a pair of sneakers. Great. I was a freaking dufus for letting my bitch ex-wife control me.

I felt a burst of love and joy being sent my way. I looked up and saw my Bella smiling at me from across the room. I sent her my gratitude to which she winked. I strode over to where she was sitting with Peter, collected her, and placed her on my lap. I knew that Demetri wouldn't harm her. Charlie managed to obliterate any bond he had with the Volturi simply by getting him to admit his true feelings.

Now, we had to figure out how to proceed from this point.

"Can we get back to business here?" Eleazar asked. "I swear we get sidetracked so easily. I think the first order of business is stopping Alice and Edward."

"I agree. Enough is enough. They're using Carlisle's name because of the influence it wields. You're going to have to get in touch with all of your contacts even if you have to go and seek them out yourself. Between all of you, you have to know a lot of vampires," Charlie pointed out.

"I can help you," Demetri said. "Um, where is my iPad? I have the names, numbers and/or last known location of every vampire I've come across in a thousand years stored in there. I also know whether they're dead or alive."

"Okay, we call the ones who have phones and tell them that they must first confirm the information with me. What should we do about the ones without phone access? And what do we do about the Volturi? We don't want Aro having use of Alice and Edward's gifts," Carlisle pointed out.

"What gifts do they have?" Demetri asked.

"Alice is a seer and Edward is a mindreader."

"That's not a good thing. Their gifts would make Aro and Caius more powerful. We need to bring Marcus here."

"Marcus?" a few of questioned.

"That's not a bad idea," Eleazar agreed. "Marcus is being forced to remain on the throne in Volterra through Chelsea's gift. He wouldn't be allowed to leave the castle without at least, Felix and Afton—and Afton won't leave without his mate. So that just leaves Heidi. How do we get her out of Volterra?"

"Heidi is easy, she's constantly out and about hunting for meals for the kings. We just..."

"What do you mean she's out hunting for meals for the kings?" Bella asked.

"Ah, in Volterra, our meals our lured in for us by Heidi."

"What do you mean lured in?"

Demetri explained how innocent tourists are taken on a tour of the castle then fed on.

"That's atrocious!" Jessica yelled and started crying.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..." poor Demetri apologized. "Heidi hates her job, that's why she wants to leave."

"Heidi?" Victoria questioned.

"Yes, do you know her?"

"You don't remember me. I was part of the group of women brought in with Hilda when Heidi sacrificed herself for us. We have to get her out of there." Victoria turned pleadingly to Laurent. "We absolutely must get her out of there, honey! We have to! I won't be able to live with myself if we don't!"

Laurent cuddled Victoria protectively. "We have three shields, three succubi, two empaths, a gift reader, a bond reader, a clairvoyant, a persuasion artist, and a tracker and a half..." I noticed that he wisely didn't mention Charlie's gift of mind control.

"Hey, I resent that!" Alistair interrupted.

Laurent ignored him. "I'd say we storm the castle!"

There was a loud cacophony of agreement and when I looked around, I realized that Carlisle and I were the only ones who didn't agree with taking down the Volturi.

"Guys, we were just supposed to get rid of Alice and Edward for going after my mate. How did we go from this to the Volturi?" I questioned.

"Unfortunately, once Alice and Edward used Carlisle's name and requested the assistance of the Volturi, they opened up a whole can of worms. Whether it be next week, in three months, or two years from now, you will be summoned to the castle and so will Isabella," Eleazar surmised wisely. "Charlie, Demetri, and Laurent are right—we need to take them down. Their time of rule has come to an end."

"And who is going to take over the rule of the vampire world? I certainly don't want to be put into that position."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, let's figure out how to get Marcus over here."

"How old is this Marcus guy and how well do you know him?" Lauren asked.

"He's about twenty years old, he lost his companion Didyme almost three thousand years ago. Those in the know suspect that she was murdered by Aro himself. He's very depressed. We had long talks in the hundred years that I lived in Volterra."

"And he's also devastatingly handsome. He looks like a Greek god. Tall, handsome, with piercing crimson eyes and a body that you just want to lick all over," Irina added while Randall growled menacingly by her side.

Bella looked like the cogs in her brain were turning. She ignored the conversation going on around her, stood up, and started pacing the room.

"I've got it!" she declared with a smile. "Eleazar, you said that you had long talks with Marcus when you were in Volterra, right?"

"Yes..."

"So, would you classify him as a friend?"

"Yes, I suppose."

"So, why don't you call him and tell him that you miss your old friend?"

"Bella, the Volturi are royalty..."

"So, they have needs like the rest of us. Why put him on pedestal? If you treat him like a normal guy, maybe he'll surprise you. I don't know of any twenty-year old who wants to sit on a throne day in and day out. Shouldn't he be out clubbing or skydiving or something?"

"This'll work," Peter piped in. "I'm positive."

"And what on earth am I supposed to say to him?"

"You're going to tell him that Carmen has left you and you need a buddy to drown your sorrows with."

"You want me to lie to him? Wouldn't that be treason?" Eleazar asked incredulously.

"Eli, you were just saying that we need to overthrow the Volturi a few seconds ago and you're worried about a little treason?" Carmen questioned incredulously.

Okay, so she had a point there. I looked around the living room and noticed that everyone had looks of determination on their faces. I guess we were taking down the Volturi. Well, damn, I might as well join the fucking rebellion.

"Welcome to the party, Major." Peter smirked at me.

Sure, some party. How the hell do I get myself into these messes?

**How does Jasper get himself into these messes indeed? Can you understand why Eleazar mentioned in a prior chapter that the Volturi would want Charlie more than Bella? What did you think of the way he was able to coax Demetri's true feelings from him? What did you think of Demetri? Do you think Charlie is right in wanting to overthrow the Volturi? Do you think that Eleazar is correct in saying that they have no choice but to overthrow the Volturi now? Lastly, Jasper and Bella can project pretty far, huh? Poor Demetri. Let me know your thoughts and I'll get back to you. XOXO mama4dukes**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you very much for your patience in waiting for me to get this chapter out. I truly needed to work through a few kinks and clear my brain before I could even attempt to post a chapter. With that being said, this is being published hot off the press so you don't have to wait.**

**This story is AU/OOC**

**All characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only please**

**Marcus's POV**

Our private jet, piloted by Felix and Afton arrived in Anchorage, Alaska just prior to dawn. I was needed by my good friend, Eleazar Denali. The woman who I was sure was his mate from the bonds that I'd witnessed for myself had left him for a nomadic vampire. He called me five days ago, forlorn and depressed, stating that he could no longer continue on his own and threatening to come to Volterra and expose himself to humans in broad daylight. I knew that things had gotten out of control then. When my companion Didyme was killed, I became depressed, but never to the point where I wanted to end my life.

At that point, I showed Aro my thoughts. He urged me to go to Eleazar Denali in Alaska. He was too valuable a vampire to lose in his opinion. My personal opinion had nothing to do with Eleazar's gift. He was too valuable a friend to lose.

With my position as king, I needed a few guard members to accompany me on my travels. Aro, who had his own nefarious ambitions suggested that I bring Chelsea and her mate, Afton, with me. His reasoning was that Afton had minor shielding capabilities and would be able to shield three or four people at once. I knew the truth though, he wanted Chelsea to bond Eleazar to me, in his weakened state, so that he would return to Volterra with me and serve on the guard. I carefully tucked that thought to the back of my mind so he couldn't find it in case he searched my mind again.

In addition to Chelsea and Afton, it was decided that Felix would accompany us. His sheer, brute force was needed in case we needed protection. Heidi was also dispatched with us so that she could lure meals in for us. We had a spare 'fisherman' in the castle who was changed three years ago, named Gianna. She could lure meals into the castle during Heidi's absence. Unlike Heidi, Gianna enjoyed her job. In truth, I was happy that it was these four vampires that would be joining me on this visit, they were the kindest ones in the castle along with Demetri who, unfortunately, was on a mission for Carlisle Cullen.

We had arranged for a vehicle to be waiting for us at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska. It was large enough to house the five of us plus all of our luggage. I was a bit shocked at it's enormity, but, more than that, I was stunned at how much society had changed since I last left the castle in 1908 because the castle was shaken by an earthquake that struck Messina, nine hundred kilometers away.

After a long drive, we arrived at Eleazar Denali's home. I knew that I had made the right decision to come and see my friend when I was overcome with a serene feeling of peace as we approached the home. In fact, everyone else was commenting on how Alaska seemed to bring out tranquility in them. Felix cut the engine when we got to the house. At vampire speed, we all exited the vehicle, and then everything went black.

**Chelsea's POV**

All around me, everyone went down like a light almost as if they decided to just fall asleep. Hang on, my husband is snoring. He's sleeping! What's going on?

I tried to make a run for it, but I couldn't move. I was stuck in some sort of a bubble. I knew that screaming for help wouldn't do a thing so I just stood there, completely helpless. Suddenly, the front door opened up and several male vampires, including Demetri came outside.

"Sorry, Chel, we need to speak to you," he said.

The male vampires grabbed the sleeping ones while Demetri carried me inside and placed me on the sofa. There were more vampires inside, some I recognized including Eleazar Denali, his mate, Carmen, and the three slutty succubi sisters. Carlisle Cullen was also here.

"If you promise to cooperate, we'll explain everything to you," Demetri said.

I felt my bubble being released. Before I could even think of forming a bond between myself and a few of these vampires, a tall dark haired male stated, "We are here for you, Chelsea."

"Yes, you are," I replied.

"You seem very troubled. Are you and your mate happy to be serving the Volturi?"

"No."

"Why not? Don't worry, you're among friends. You can be honest with us."

"I'm forced to create loyalty bonds between people. It's not fair, people should be able to choose who they are loyal to."

"I agree."

"Who have you bonded to the Volturi?" the man asked. I found myself being honest and pouring my heart out to this stranger.

"If you had a choice, would you remove the bonds?"

"Oh, most definitely. I'd especially remove the one placed on Marcus. He doesn't deserve to be forced to stay on the throne with Aro and Caius. And poor Heidi. She's the nicest lady on the planet yet she's forced to lure innocents into the castle to serve as meals."

"That's too bad that they are enslaved into doing someone else's bidding. The ability to make choices free from restraints is an inherent right that all of us have. None of you should have restrictions placed on your personal freedom."

"I know, but they threaten my mate if I don't do their bidding."

Why am I spilling all of our secrets to this man? I felt comfortable and secure with him. He was almost father-like in his demeanor. I thought about my human life and what I could remember of it. I had loving parents and my father, my father was wise and gentle like this man. He was who I missed most from my human life.

"Well, you're safe now. What's stopping you from acting of your own free will?" he questioned.

Before I knew it, I was crying while reminiscing about my father. The venom I collected in my eyes stung just like the pain in my heart. I had pain from being forced to serve Aro, pain from being forced to inflict servitude on others, pain from having my mate—the only one without any sort of fabricated bond—being threatened if I didn't do what was told of me. And, suddenly, I felt a surge of anger brewing inside of me. How dare they? How dare Aro and Caius force us to serve on their guard? I screamed at the top of my lungs. I screamed and then I concentrated on Heidi, Felix, Demetri, Marcus, and even Eleazar Denali and removed any ties they had connecting them to Aro and Caius. And then I cried again, I cried because for the first time since I was taken by the royal scumbags, I felt free.

I noticed a sweet looking, buxom blonde lady nodding her head to the fatherly man. I looked up at him and questioned, "Who are you?"

"My name is Charlie Swan."

"Help us, please," I begged. "Please, please, hide us from our masters."

"That's what I'm here for, sweetheart," he replied just as everyone else started stirring awake.

"Chelsea, Chelsea, are you okay?" Afton asked worriedly, rushing to my side.

"I'm fine, better than I've ever been."

I had no idea what just happened, but I felt freer than I ever have since becoming a vampire.

**Jasper's POV**

It worked. Our plan worked flawlessly. Charlie, in his own special way, was able to coax Chelsea into removing the bonds she placed on everyone through her own free will. I helped by exaggerating the emotions she was already feeling. After I got the okay from Charlotte, I slowly nudged everyone else awake.

"Well, that was refreshing," the big, tall guy named Felix said. "I haven't had a nap in ages."

"Neither have I," the fuckhot, gorgeous chick with the outstanding body agreed. _Oh crap! Bella's glaring at me from the side._ The...um...above average chick..._oh good, Bella likes that thought better_...as I was saying, the above average chick looked up and suddenly gasped, "Vicky?" The pair went running for each other and hugged. _Come to think of it, Vicky has a pretty spankin' bod too. I best quash that thought right out of my brain before my mate squashes my brain for me._

"Oh, Heidi, I missed you so much!" Vicky cried.

What the fuck? How come my woman is staring at Marcus Volturi with goo goo eyes. Hey! So are Lauren, Jess, and Angela. God damn it!

"Welcome to Denali, Alaska," Lauren practically purred at him.

"Thank you, I am here to seek out my friend, Eleazar. My name is Marcus Volturi."

"Can I call you Mark?"

_Mark? He doesn't look like a Mark, he looks more like a...why the hell are we entertaining calling royalty, Mark? What the hell is wrong with Lauren?_

"We refer to his highness as master or my lord," Heidi corrected.

"Pfft, honey, this is America. Here, his name is Mark," Bella quipped.

"Master, is it..."

"It's quite alright, Heidi. I rather like being called Mark, it's more youthful. You may call me Mark as well, I think you've earned the right."

"Thank you, mas...Mark."

"Well, now that you're all revived, let me introduce you to everyone," a chipper Eleazar started.

"Aren't you supposed to be depressed?" Marcus asked.

"Uh, I told a teensy weensy white lie. You won't hold it against me, will you? It'll all be explained in a minute."

After introductions were made, Charlie explained what's been transpiring here on our end beginning with Edward and Alice's intent to drain a human Bella and their use of Carlisle's name because of the power it wielded. Of course, he and I were surreptitiously using our gifts at the same time as well. They didn't need to know that though. Anyway, we weren't hitting them full on with our gifts, we all agreed that it was important that they came to their decisions on their own. We were just encouraging them to become more aware of what they wanted.

"I have a confession to make," Chelsea suddenly blurted.

"Yes, go ahead," Marcus prompted.

"While all of you were sleeping I removed the bonds that Aro forced me to place on you that chained you to the Volturi. I removed it from Demetri and Eleazar too."

"You placed a bond on me?" Eli asked.

"Yes, a small one a few hundred years ago so that you would always return to Volterra when asked to come and read whether or not a vampire has a gift. And before we flew over here, Aro ordered me to secure a bond between you and Marcus so that you would come to Volterra and remain there to serve on their guard."

"Those fuckers are going down!" an enraged Emmett suddenly shouted from out of the blue. "I've goddamned had it with users and manipulators. We're taking out the creepy, pasty dudes when we take out the psycho twits!"

"I agree," Afton stood up with gritted teeth. "For years, they've threatened my life knowing that my mate would do their every bidding if they dangled my existence in front of her. We are not going back there. We're going to show up and rip their dicks off!"

I noticed Demetri cringing and checking to make sure that his stuff was still attached. He placed Tanya on his lap for comfort after that.

"It's still there darling, don't worry. I'll suck it and make it better later," Tanya assured.

"When did you and Tanya become mated?" Marcus asked.

"That's another thing that we forgot to mention. As soon as I was able to shake off Chelsea's fabricated bond, Tanya and I discovered that we were mates. It appears the fabricated bond interfered with our ability to truly mate."

"This is wrong, so wrong," Marcus muttered. "So very, very wrong." He looked up at all of us. "Let's get those pasty bastards! Their time of rule has come to an end. I say we stage a rebellion!"

"Well, you know, if it's Marcus's idea, I suppose it's alright," Carlisle said looking pointedly at Charlie.

"Yes, Marcus, it is your idea," Charlie reinforced with his gift. I sent Marcus a burst of confidence as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we need to make plans. And I would say that we have the upper hand over both Alice and Edward as well as the Volturi."

"Marcus, might I remind you that you are the only true Volturi on the throne," Eli noted.

"Good point, it's time we take out Aro and Caius and restore the name Volturi to it's former glory! I'm a saint, after all."

"Now, we're talking," Charlie whooped, then used his gift surreptitiously again. "You all need to remain here so you can stay hidden from Alice Cullen's visions. Furthermore, in the event that Aro or Edward try to infiltrate your minds, you're to not think about our plans in their presence. Just think about sex or a favorite TV show or something."

"Yes, I agree, put any thoughts into the deep recesses of your mind. It's simple to do, I've been doing it for three thousand years," Marcus supported.

"How?" Chelsea asked.

"It's quite simple, you distract your mind with other thoughts. For example, I constantly obsessed about Didyme if Aro tried to use his gift on me and the only other thoughts that I let flow through were ones that I didn't mind him reading."

"You could have shared that little tidbit with the rest of us, you know," Demetri huffed.

"It was too dangerous. We needed to be away from Volterra and this is the perfect venue. We're a united front and we all have one goal—take down Aro and Caius."

"I have a question," Heidi piped in timidly. "How are we supposed to get to them with Jane and Alec protecting them?"

"Who are Jane and Alec?" Angela asked.

"Those two combined can be considered Aro's and Caius's main bodyguards. Jane has the power to inflict pain similar to Kate, but she doesn't need to be touching them. Alec is more dangerous, he can inhibit all of your senses so that you cannot see, hear, feel, or even smell."

"And the problem is that I can't even use my gift on the pair of them," Chelsea noted. "Aro has them constantly shielded under Renata. Not to mention the fact that they're so closely bonded to Aro that I've never needed to use my gift on them."

Eleazar was doing some sort of happy dance and we all stared at him as if he were a loon. This was a serious moment and he looked...excited?

"None of you see it, can you?"

"See what?" Demetri asked.

"We are now officially more powerful than the Volturi."

"How?" Afton asked.

"Including you, we have a total of four shields, Kate has her pain manipulation by touch, Charlotte and Marcus can read bonds, Chelsea can make or break them, Heidi has her allure, Demetri can track, Alistair can sort of track, I can read gifts, Peter is clairvoyant, Garrett has his gift of persuasion, we have two empaths, and Victoria can get us out of any tight spot. Now, you tell me, how the hell are the royal pasty dudes going to compete with that? Even if, by some miracle, they get Alice and Edward on their side, their gifts are easily blocked." He wisely didn't make any mention of Charlie's gift. As a precautionary measure, he had suggested to Charlie that he order all of us to keep mum about his gift so none of us were able to divulge his secret to anyone other than immediate family.

"We need to train everyone to fight," Felix piped in. The Volturi have strong fighters, every single guard member can fight. In our group, aside from the Major and those of us who served on the guard, no one else can fight."

"Peter, Charlotte, and Garrett can fight."

"Hey, what about me?" Emmett protested.

"Sorry, buddy, you're strong, but you can't fight for shit. You need skill," I informed him.

"I've got mad skills."

"Alright, then let's see you take on..." I looked around the room. "Heidi."

"Her? She's a girl, I can't fight her."

"Outside, now," I ordered.

We all filed out of the house and ran to a clearing. We formed a circle around Heidi and Demetri, giving them a wide berth to move around in.

"Come and get me," Heidi stated with a smirk.

"Easy peasy," Emmett chuckled. He got into battle mode and started running at full speed towards Heidi. He tried to shove her out of the way, but she easily sidestepped him, grabbed hold of one of his legs, tripped him, and before he knew it, she had his head in position for removal—just like that.

Frustrated, he tried again and again. Each and every time, he failed and with each failure he lost his focus and became sloppier and sloppier.

"Enough!" I roared. "You need to be trained, Emmett. You fight like a newborn."

"I do not fight like a newborn!"

"Sorry, old chap, you really do," Demetri agreed. "You need training, lots and lots of training."

"Yeah, well, I want to see Jasper take someone on. He's been out of the fighting loop for decades, I bet he's lost his touch!"

"Alright, I want the most skilled fighter to attack me."

Felix, Demetri, and Afton all came forward. They stared at each other and immediately started arguing.

"Felix, you're not exactly skilled, you just have more inhuman strength than a standard vampire."

"Shut the hell up! You're just jealous because you've never been able to take me in a fight, Afton."

"This is true," Demetri agreed. "I don't even know what you're doing up here with the big boys."

"Hey, he asked for the most skilled. I use my brain when I fight. All you do is rely on your speed, Demetri."

"Why you..."

The three stooges started yelling and screaming at each other and soon they were kicking and slapping each other. We all watched them curiously. Peter shrugged his shoulders at me from the side. Truth be told, I was pretty sure that Pete, Char, Garrett, and I could take any one of them. By now, the three of them were full on wrestling on the forest floor. This was completely insane.

Charlie apparently thought so too because before we knew it, he had pried the three of them apart and thrown each of them into trees. _How the hell did he do that?_

My future father-in-law smirked at me. "I'll take you on, Major."

He got into attack position. The two of us circled each other like vultures circling it's prey—the only difference being that we were each other's prey. I abruptly reached out with my right hand to grab Charlie, but before I could even lay a finger on him, his left hand clasped over my wrist and I was thrown off balance and propelled behind him and thrown to the ground. I felt an immense amount of pain in my wrist as he applied pressure to it and I couldn't move for the life of me.

"What the hell did you do?" I asked.

"I used your strength against you," he replied simply.

"That was amazing. I've never seen a move like that."

"May I try attacking you?" Demetri asked.

I moved out of the way. I was man enough to admit when I had been bested, I wasn't going to be like Emmett and keep making a fool out of myself.

Demetri chose to do a running attack like Emmett, but unlike him, he had a plan of attack. He charged at Charlie and went straight for his shoulders, he was planning on throwing him; it was a move that I'd used countless times. As soon as Demetri's hand touched Charlie's shoulder, he was thrown off balance. Charlie's hand swept down the arm that Dem was attacking with, he grabbed his elbow, and propelled him face forward onto the ground.

When Dem got up, Charlie wagged his eyebrows to him.

"I bow to the master." Demetri dipped his head to my father-in-law and the rest of us stared at him in awe.

"Where did you learn those moves?" Peter asked.

"I"m a cop, Peter. You don't get to be chief of police by just sitting around on your ass. I used the assailant's power against him."

"Dad, be honest!" Bella chastised.

"Alright, I was really into Steven Seagal movies in the eighties so I took aikido lessons for ten years in Port Angeles. Renee had Bella so I had to kill my time somehow."

"That was sheer awesomeness!" I complimented. "Can you teach us some of those moves so we can incorporate them into our training?"

"Yes, that was absolutely awe inspiring," Felix agreed.

"Excuse me." Pat raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"By training, do you mean that all of us have to train?"

"Yes, absolutely. All of you need to learn to protect yourselves."

"But I'm...I'm just a hairdresser and a mother."

"You're not just anyone, Pat." I sent her a bit of confidence. "Besides, most in our world don't distinguish between male and female on the battlefield."

"Battlefield?" she whimpered.

"If we're taking down Aro and Caius, this is bound to turn into a battle. We will all need to fight and that includes you."

"Jasper, I'll talk to Patty later," Charlie stated. "I think it'll be better coming from me."

"Alright."

"Let's go back into the house," Eleazar suggested. "We need to figure out how to deal with Aro and Caius. When do you expect them to be contacting you?"

"I should probably call now and inform them of our arrival. Don't worry, they're easy to handle and there's the fact that it'll pretty much take a natural disaster to get them to leave their throne," Marcus replied. "I'll make things sound as normal as possible so they don't suspect a thing."

"Good idea," I replied. Now we had to figure out a way to take down the Volturi. How we were going to do it, I had no idea, but it had to be done and flawlessly at that. All of a sudden, Alice and Edward, though they still had to die, became the least of our worries. We were going to be taking down a pair of dictators for God's sake.

It dawned upon me then that we were starting a revolution. This was going to be bigger, much bigger than anything that I'd ever encountered with Maria. This was going to take planning and commitment because the opponents we were facing had as much cunning as we did and centuries more battle experience. We'd need to be calculating, precise, and methodical in our way of handling matters.

I looked around the living room and found everyone deep in concentration. Bella gazed at me from across the room and gave me a breathtaking smile. I felt her send me a dose of faith and confidence my way, and I realized that it was time to reattach my balls and embrace my inner Major. I had a hell of a lot more to lose than the gloomy dictators if I didn't come out of this the victor—not just myself, my whole family did. _"We will win this," _I vowed silently to myself. Yes, we will win this. _We have to._

**Boy, the Volturi were certainly easy to sway, weren't they? Do you think our gang's idea of knocking everyone out and singling out Chelsea was effective? Why do you suppose they did that? How about Charlie and Jasper working in tandem to gently encourage the Volturi to come to the right decision? And what of Charlie's fighting skills? Isn't it great that human fighting tactics can sometimes be deemed worthy in the vampire world? And thus, the revolution has begun. Let me know your thoughts and I'll get back to you. **

**XOXO mama4dukes**_  
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	17. Chapter 17

**Hello everyone! I'd like to apologize for the long delay between the last chapter and this one. My attention was absolutely required at home and I was unable to concentrate on writing at all. I'm still getting back into the groove of things so please don't expect weekly updates like before. God willing, I won't go for months without updating. I can guarantee that I will finish all of my stories and I have more to post as soon as they are completed. Going forward, I'll only post a maximum of two stories at once though. An important lesson I learned in my time off is that sometimes life brings in unexpected events which can only make us stronger. Thank you all for the encouraging messages, reviews, and especially for your patience. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Without further ado, I present to you chapter 17 of Dates, Mates, Hate, and Fate.**

**One more thing, if this story is ever deleted, it can be found on TWCS and Twi-write.**

**This story is AU/OOC**

**All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Mature readers 18+ only.**

**Jasper's POV**

Having the Volturi here in Alaska was turning out to be a blessing. We'd all been under an enormous amount of stress with the amount of newborns surrounding us, and we hadn't realized it. The Volturi were a great help in teaching them to relearn human control. Of course, Charlie and Bella were freakish and didn't need any assistance, but the rest of them did. Their presence allowed us older vampires to have a bit more free time instead of constantly being vigilant about the newborns. Scratch that—two newborns is a better alternative word. The two newborns having the worst time adjusting to their new lives were Jessica and Lauren.

Jessica and Lauren were emotional disasters. Jessica was homesick and missed her parents tremendously. She was also terrified and distrustful of everyone around her. She'd shut herself off from everyone, afraid of being hurt. These were actually typical newborn emotions and Carlisle pointed out that Angela was the same way for almost a year.

Of course, there was also Lauren. She loved being a vampire, but was bored with being cooped up in the Denali home. She was used to being out and about and detested the seclusion of being a vampire. She was prone to running away and, more than once, Demetri has had to track her and bring her back home before she wiped out some innocent humans. A few days ago, Lauren actually managed to run to Juneau where Demetri found her standing in front of a donut shop, barefoot, muddy, and salivating at the mouth, contemplating which human to take out. Pete was at his wit's end, but I pointed out that at least she didn't kill any innocent humans, she was just trying to figure out which one to drain which was progress—she's learned some semblance of control. That seemed to make him feel better, but he was still on edge about his mate.

Meanwhile, Emmett was feeling everything from guilt to panic to depression to happiness—making Bella's and my emotions go absolutely haywire. He was happy to have his mate by his side, but felt guilty for having brought her into this life. He also felt panicked whenever Jess would withdraw from society and would become depressed at the thought of her feeling any negative emotions. I felt bad for him, but he needed to understand that Jess came to the decision to be turned into a vampire by herself and she needed to come to terms with that.

The rest of the newborns were really making strides. Pat was making a ton of progress with her human strength by practicing her hairdressing skills. Of course, all of us guys now had buzz cuts due to her several botched attempts with her sheers which she had to repair with clippers, but the area wildlife were now all sporting nicely shorn and styled coats of fur. I'd even venture to say that if we could find a few stray dogs, let Pat work her magic, and trained them to be obedient—they'd be prize winners at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Hey, now that ain't a bad idea.

Back to the topic of newborns, aside from Lauren and Jess, everyone else was doing well. Charlie and Bella, of course, had no bloodlust to speak of and Pat was quickly gaining control over hers. Angela, of course, could no longer be considered a newborn, but she's gained a sense of self. She told Eleazar and Carlisle that she couldn't feed off of animals if she wanted to maintain control. She now hunts criminals along with the Volturi, Bella, and me.

Angela hunting humans actually gave Carmen enough confidence to finally admit that she detested the animal diet. A stunned Eleazar, who had no idea that his mate felt that way and didn't want to force his ideologies upon her, relaxed his staunch views on feeding from animals. Chelsea noticed that their bond to each other actually strengthened after Carmen's frank admission. I can understand why, though, total honesty between couples is a must. It's a recurrent theme in romance novels. Speaking of which, I wonder if Bella's done with the latest Jo Beverley book? I've kind of been itching to read it. Although lately, I've been veering away from historical romances and getting into those supernatural romance books. Those vampires are so much cooler than we are. I don't think it's fair that they don't have to sparkle, but—then again, they can't venture out during the daytime and they have to sleep in coffins. Imagine having to sleep in a coffin. How morbid is that? But, then again, they do get to sleep. I suppose both have their advantages.

"You look like you're deep in thought," Bella noted.

"Hey, baby." I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her soundly on the lips.

"What has you in such a contemplative mood?" She eyed me pensively. "It's written all over your face, never mind the emotions you're emitting."

"Would you sleep in a coffin?"

"Hmm...I don't think coffins were meant for sleeping in. They were meant to be a final resting place for the dead. Why? What brought this up?"

"Okay, say you were dead and walking the earth..."

"I am dead and walking the earth," she interrupted.

"Just work with me here." She huffed and rolled her eyes. I took it as permission for me to continue. "Just say that you died centuries ago and you have to sleep during the daytime to recharge because you're allergic to sunlight. Would you slumber in a coffin or find an alternate place to sleep that's equally dark and enclosed."

"Okay, if I were a fictional vampire from one of the novels you're reading." Bella paused to smirk at me. Okay, so she's caught on, but that's what I like about her. "I would most likely think up of a place other than a coffin to sleep in because, quite frankly, that's pretty morbid."

"That's what I think as well. For example, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to sleep in a sealed room with blackout curtains and one of those memory foam mattresses. Maybe I'd hire an interior decorator to spiff out the room for me. I'd even put a sofa and an easy chair in the room in case I wanted to crash there for the day. After all, why should I sacrifice a good night's sleep?"

"Technically, you'd be sleeping during the day and, if I'm not mistaken, you would be dead rather than sleeping."

"Dead?"

"Yes, dead."

"Well, that ain't right! Are you saying that they have to die nightly?"

"Yes."

"Well, who the hell came up with that crock of shit?"

"That would be Marcus Volturi, remember? He's the one that spread those rumors in order to hide the existence of vampires from humans."

"I'm really going to have to discuss his sense of logic with him. I can't understand how dying every morning can ever be construed as productive."

"You do that, honey. After that, consider seeing a therapist. It's fiction for God's sake."

"Hey, you're the one that got me into romance novels in the first place!"

"At least I don't take fiction seriously. Maybe you should concentrate more on the historical romances, they're more realistic."

"Realistic? In every single novel, the female protagonist gets seduced by a rake or a rogue who's either extravagantly wealthy or has a title and they end up getting hitched in the end."

"That's kind of like what happened to me, don't you think, Jasper? You're an extravagantly wealthy rogue vampire who ended up proposing to me then seducing me."

"There's a difference, I went out and bought you cookies after I seduced you."

"That's because you used me as a blood bank and I was feeling a bit wobbly."

"So I lost control for a bit. At least I didn't drain you."

"True, true."

"Besides, what kind of a heroine messes around with a vampire? That's messed up."

"Touche, my dear. You were very convincing."

"Yeah? Like one of the rogues in those novels."

"Absolutely...or possibly a rake." She chuckled then smiled at me before speaking again, "Do you want to run to the Barnes and Noble in Anchorage? They're open until eleven. It's only five o'clock. We can get lost in their jungle of books for hours. It'll be like a date."

"Now, you're talking my language, baby." I gave her a little squeeze then got up to throw my boots on. "Besides, it's Tuesday. All of the new releases are out. We should bring a backpack in case we buy books."

"What do you mean by 'in case'? Of course we're coming home with books."

After letting everyone know that we were going out for a run, we took off for the bookstore. We spent hours perusing the shelves then sitting and reading before we were literally thrown out by the manager because it was well past closing time. We arrived back to our temporary home after a quick hunt and were now snuggled under the covers doing some more reading. I was reading some book about a girl who has to choose between a vampire and a werewolf. Is she stupid or something? It's clear that the werewolf is a better choice, the vampire is a brooding piece of shit. I feel like shaking the crap of her! And why the hell is she so selfish and why can't she make a decision for herself?

"Jasper?" _Damned stupid, little... _ "Jasper!"

"What?" I snapped.

"You're projecting. What's wrong?"

"Ella keeps going back to Ned and stringing Jason along."

"Why the hell are you reading that? That's a teen book."

"It was a bestseller ten years ago!"

"I know, I read it when I was like thirteen, I think."

"Well, what happens in the end?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Tell me, I can't read this anymore. If Ella says, 'Holy Crow' anymore, I'm going to strangle her. And what kind of teenager doesn't have sex?"

"I didn't have sex."

"You had good reasons not to. And that's not the point, Ella isn't normal. She's too much of a good girl, too complacent. I want her to grow a backbone—speak up for herself. I especially want her to tell Ned's sister Allison off. She's too damn annoying and interfering. There's no way that Allison is Ella's best friend."

"Are you done? Because you're disturbing me."

"What can be more important than Ella's well being? And what the heck are you reading?" I glanced at the book that had my mate so engrossed. "'Daily Life During the Civil War?' Why Bella? I can tell you anything you want to know about life during the Civil War."

"I know you can, Jasper. I just felt like reading this book because it's interesting. You can either confirm or debunk the facts for me afterwards. I promise to ask you any questions I migh...are you pouting?"

"No."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"What's wrong with you today?"

"I don't...damn it...I'm trying to keep my mind off of the chaos heading our way. I don't want it! I don't want any of it! And I don't want this," I pointed between the two of us, "to end! Edward, Alice, and the Volturi are threatening our very happiness. And I finally found happiness. Can't you understand that? I finally found happiness with you and I don't want it to end!"

"Oh, Jasper." She put the book down and wrapped her arms around me. "I do. I do understand what you're saying. I don't want to lose all of this either. That's why we have to fight."

"I know why we have to fight. I just wish we didn't have to. I'm so pissed off! I mean, Bella, think about it—the only reason why we're taking down the Volturi is because Alice and Edward got them involved in our lives. It just...why did this have to happen to us?"

"I don't have an answer for you. You know as well as I do that sometimes things in life happen for no good reason. We just have to muddle through it." She cupped my face with her palms and looked me in the eyes. "Just know this—I love you. I love you for better or for worse. I love you with everything I have in me. And I'll never let you go."

"I'm supposed to be the one reassuring you, Bella. I'm the man in the relationship. You're supposed to be able to depend on me."

"Now that is the most chauvinistic statement I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

"Well, it's true. We don't ha..."

"Shh..." She silenced me with a soft kiss on my lips. "You've led a tough life, Jasper. At least, you have since your change. You were used, manipulated, and coerced by both Alice and Maria, but—through it all, you managed to hang on to a piece of yourself. I love that about you. I love how you know right from wrong and fight for what's right. I also know that we're going after Edward, Alice, and the Volturi for that same reason—it's the right thing to do."

"But..."

"Let me finish. Jasper, you're so brave. You've always been brave and you haven't had anyone that you can rely on for years. But I'm here for you now. You don't always have to be the brave one. I can be brave for you."

"We can be brave together."

"Yeah, we can. You don't have to hold up the fort alone anymore. I'm here for you and that'll never change. I love you."

"I love you, Bella." I put one arm around her to keep her close and we went back to reading. _Man, this is a shitty book._ "Hey, baby?"

"Hmm?"

"What happens in the end? I can't read this anymore, but I need to know what happens."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, it's a four book series. At the end of the fourth book, Ella finally comes to her senses. She tells Allison off, breaks up with Ned, and tells Jason that she only wants to be friends with him. Oh, and she ends up going off to college where she hooks up with Jackson—Allison's human boyfriend, the one she kept trying to change to her liking. They end up getting married in the end and living happily ever after."

"Oh, for Christ's sake, now I'm going to have to read the whole series."

"I thought you didn't like it."

"Yeah, that was before you told me that she ends up with Jackson! Why'd you have to go and ruin it for me?"

"Um, I'm not getting into this with you." She went back to her book. "I didn't know they had canned deviled ham during the Civil War. What does it taste like anyway?"

"It wasn't bad in a sandwich with cheese. I mean, you're pretty desperate for food as a soldier. The problem was finding cheese and bread. Sometimes, we had to eat deviled ham straight out of the can with a side of pork and beans. It got better after I became an officer though. We always had better food than the enlisted men."

"Huh, this is pretty interesting. You had condensed milk and Worcestershire sauce too."

"Yeah, that condensed milk was kick ass. I used to drink it straight out of the can as a kid. Cook caught me doing that once in the kitchen and told Mama. She made me go out and milk all of the cows every morning for a whole month. I still snuck the condensed milk though, I just didn't get caught."

We alternated between talking, reading, and snuggling after that. For now, life was good. I knew that it wouldn't stay that way for long though, but I needed to take these moments and relish them because these times would become fewer and farther between.

_**Meanwhile in the Fontainebleau Forest near Paris, France...**_

**Alice's POV**

"They haven't called yet, Alice. It's been a month."

"Aro told us that it would take a few months since Demetri has never met Bella."

"But I thought as long as he had her essence, he could find her quickly. Should we send them another pair of her panties."

"No, it'll be okay."

"I need her blood, Alice. I'm desperate. Get it for me!" _He's beginning to lose control again. What __am I going to do?_

"Edward, Demetri will find her. I've seen it. And when he does find her, you'll be able to feast to your heart's content on her blood."

"Really, Alice?"

"You're questioning my visions?"

"N...N...No...it's just that...I've seen blips in your visions lately. They've been hazy."

"Edward, I told you that I would get you Bella Swan's blood and I meant what I said. You're making me upset with your lack of trust!" I pouted.

"I do trust you. You know how..." He suddenly stopped talking and put his fingers to his lips. At the same time, a vision came to me. Rose and Esme had heard our conversation. No, this wasn't good—not good at all. The problem had to be dealt with immediately.

Edward nodded, agreeing with me. Edward placed me on his back and—with his incredible speed—we were easily able to catch up with their receding footsteps.

Esme stood in front of Rosalie shielding her. "We won't say a word, we promise," she stated.

"Unfortunately, that's not the future that I foresee for you," I stated.

"Don't you hurt my mate," Rosalie sneered.

"You know, I detested you both from the moment you were changed," Edward informed her as he stalked towards Rose and Esme.

Using the fighting skills I learned from Jasper—ugh, I snuck up on Esme from behind and got her into a position to behead her. What I neglected to figure into the equation was Rosalie—she was bigger, stronger and she easily tore off my torso from my legs.

"Alice, my love!" Edward cried in agony.

"Help me, please. Edward, you won't be able to get Bella's blood without me."

Rose took the opportunity to run with Esme. I had no idea where they were headed. No decisions were being made by either of them. In any case, the pain from having my torso and legs separated was searing and I couldn't help but cry out in agony as Edward helped to reassemble me.

Edward finally gave up on fusing me back together. I'd lost too much venom and I was having trouble staying together. He left me in the forest and ran. Where the hell was he going? I wept in fear losing even more venom. Two hours later, my mate returned with brilliant crimson eyes and a screaming child.

"I feasted on her parents, I needed the strength. She's just an orphan now, Alice—an outcast of society."

My eyes widened. This was wrong. So wrong. She was just a child. There was no way I could eat her. Edward pierced her neck with his fingernail, drawing out her blood and dripping it into my mouth. He lowered her neck to me. I fought hard to not take in such innocent blood. "You'll be doing her a favor, her parents are gone."

And with all of my resolve gone, I bit into her flesh and started sucking out her blood. For some reason, I knew that this decision would change everything.

**What are your thoughts on Lauren and her feeling stifled? Do you think the Volturi really are a great help considering the amount of newborns residing in Alaska? What about Eleazar's change in attitude on feeding choices? Are you happy Carmen voiced her opinion to him? Can you understand why Jasper had his minor breakdown regarding all of the impending chaos? What were your thoughts on Alice and Edward? Do you think Alice having committed the ultimate sin of feeding off of an innocent child will change things? What will happen to Rose and Esme? Let me know and I'll respond. Thank you for reading and reviewing. XOXO mama4dukes**


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